Free Falling
by Arsahi
Summary: Long ago, the tools of Abscador were forged to make a man a god. The Master has finally deciphered the codes and intends to take Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan as his bride. To what lengths can a man be pushed for friendship, honor, and maybe even love?
1. MIA

**Title**: Free Falling  
**Chapter**: One--MIA (1/30)  
**Author**: Arsahi  
**Rated**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kel, I don't own Neal (though I'd like too), I don't own Merric or Tortall. I don't own anything in Protector of the Small, or in Tortall, it all belongs to Tamora Pierce.  
**Dedication**: To all the Kealers out there.  
**Author's notes**: Oh goodness. I just finished _Lady Knight_, and after the tremendous Kel/Neal vibes throughout the entire quartet I just couldn't help writing my own version. This is also my first Tortallverse fic. So...be gentle.

Things in "-- --" are memories. Most of them didn't actually happen in _Lady Knight_. Well, I didn't take them word for word out of the book. Or any of the books. I paraphrased I guess.

This is also a revamp of the original Free Falling. The text has been kept intact where possible and previous errors fixed. Enjoy!

**MIA**  
Merric sat back and watched Neal pace. "...Stop pacing, you dolt. You'll make us both dizzy."

Neal paused for a moment in his relentless pace and studied Merric. He chewed his lip, fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, then resumed pacing, much to Merric's chagrin. Neal's yearmate groaned and shook his head. "What in the name of Mithros has you so anxious, Neal?"

"Kel isn't here yet," Neal growled.

Merric frowned. "Has she sent word?"

Neal's chin jutted out angrily. "Do you think I would worry if she had?"

"Yes," came the blunt reply.

"Merric, I ought to strap you down on Peachblossom and stick a burr under his saddle for your brutal honesty," Neal answered. "Don't know how to make a fellow feel better."

"I guess she hasn't sent word then," Merric continued, ignoring Neal's comment on his inability to console. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

"About as much as you do," Neal sighed. "How am I to marry Yuki in less than a week without the faintest idea where the maid of honor and the groom's best friend has gotten off to?"

Merric shrugged and went about polishing a piece of armor. He wished he had already chosen and had a squire among the fourth year pages that had the rest of their term to finish but diligently scrubbed the tarnish from his finest armor. "Just pick someone else to be the maid of honor."

Neal scowled at Merric's callousness. He knew the younger knight was still sore from being put under Keladry of Mindelan's command at Haven and almost getting killed under that command, but it was no excuse for the brash attitude towards Neal. "No. Kel is my _best friend_. She _must_ be at the wedding. No exceptions."

"So if Kel isn't there, the wedding doesn't go on," Merric assessed.

"Exactly," Neal nodded.

Merric stared at Neal for a moment, eyes glittering in the pale sunshine. They sat in Merric's quarters at Corus, Merric in a chair by the window with Neal pacing the length of the wall in front of Merric's wardrobe and bookcase. Merric dressed for comfort rather than show in a maroon shirt tucked into soft leather breeches, the hems of the legs tucked into worn boots that had seen better days. He wore the badge that marked him as a knight of Corus and Tortall. Neal wore nearly the same attire, except he opted for a dark green shirt and trousers. The air around the anxious knight sizzled and popped without him realizing it.

"...You're in no shape to go about healing the sick and wounded and I don't think I can handle much more of your whining, Queenscove," Merric informed his friend. "Go take a ride or something to calm your nerves."

A sparrow that had gone with Neal rather than Kel at the end of the Scanran war peeped her agreement from Merric's windowsill. The knight gave Neal a prodding look and the older man sighed. Kel and Kel's sparrows got to him in ways he couldn't understand. He looked at his feet and then once more at the sparrow. She cheeped and glided onto Neal's shoulder.

"...Right. I'll be seeing you then, Merric," Neal said as he left the knight's quarters, Merric shaking his head sadly.

Neal sorely missed Keladry of Mindelan, his oldest and best friend. One of two lady knights in the entire realm of Tortall, she had faced odds stacked against her and won Neal's respect. Respect was something hard won with Nealan of Queenscove, son of Duke Baird and head healer at Corus. Neal was due to marry one of Kel's friends from the Yamani Islands soon and she had accepted the post as Maid of Honor. She had also promised she would be in Corus by two weeks before the wedding.

Neal had given Kel a one-week leeway. It was now approaching the five days till the wedding mark and Kel had neither sent a message nor arrived. Kel never broke her promises. And Kel had just broken her promise.

Needless to say, Neal had reason to worry about her. He rubbed his temples, apologizing to Cane--the sparrow--for disrupting her perch and sighed. His mind had gone a million ways at once: what if Hoshi and Peachblossom had fallen and Kel was stranded with Tobe and her supplies? What if she had been poisoned? What if she had fallen ill? What if Tobe had been kidnapped and she had broken her leg? The what ifs were too many in number and overloaded Neal's psyche. Many things could have happened. She may have found herself without a calendar and hadn't realized it was so close to Neal's wedding. It could be something as simple as that. Or she had been caught in the middle of two warring towns and had taken it upon herself to sort their problems out. Perhaps Tobe had fallen ill or one of her horses did and the other tossed a shoe.

Still, Neal tortured himself by wandering down to the couriers' post and checking for any messages addressed to him.

"Certainly. We have three messages for you, Sir Nealan," the courier answered. Neal beat the hope out of his heart and contemptuously snatched the messages from the courier.

However, he couldn't help but ask: "Do you know if any are from Lady Knight Keladry?"

The courier only shrugged. "I know they're addressed to you but that's all."

Neal looked at the three messages and found that he recognized the handwriting on all three. One from his cousin farther north apologizing for not being able to attend the wedding, one from Seaver, and another from Owen of Jesslaw. "Gods dammit all," Neal murmured. He tossed the letter from his cousin aside in shreds and amiably opened the letter from Seaver.

_Neal:_

_How are you? So sorry for not being able to come to your wedding to Lady Yukimi. You see, my squire and I seem to be tied up to business here in the South with the Bazhir and quite frankly we just can't leave. If we did, it would be in a week or two--surely past the wedding!_

_How fares Lady Yukimi? And Kel? Have you heard from Kel lately?_

Neal stopped reading and reread the sentence. Seaver hadn't heard from Kel either. He folded the letter and stored it in his pocket, opening the letter from Owen.

_Dear Neal,_

_How goes it? I hear everyone's declining the invitations to the wedding! You planned it in such a busy time but I guess no one could have predicted the Gods-cursed war. Anyways, it's been a while since I heard from Kel. Normally she writes to me about every other week and it's been about a month since her last letter._

_Have you heard from her?_

Neal felt his heart sink into his shoes. He looked at Cane out of the corner of his eye. "Kel's gone. No one's heard from her in a month at the least. People she normally keeps correspondence with are not receiving letters..." he murmured and looked to the sky. "Mithros, Kel...why now?"

Suddenly, Neal conceived the notion of going to Lord Raoul to see if he or Domitan had gotten letters from Kel. It could be something as simple as she had gotten stuck in a place with no ink or paper to spare. However, Neal wanted to get to the bottom of this. Kel was missing.

"Raoul," Neal nodded to Raoul after knocking on the frame of the door to the larger man's office. "I don't mean to worry you, but have you gotten any letters from Kel as of late?"

"You noticed too?" Raoul motioned to the chair in front of his desk for Neal to take a seat. Cane stayed perched on Neal's shoulder.

"Noticed? I think 'noticed' hardly covers half of it," Neal muttered darkly.

Raoul raised an eyebrow. "Do you have reason to believe something has happened to her?"

"She promised me she'd be here a week and a half ago. She _promised_. She broke her promise and stopped writing letters. I have _every_ reason to be worried about her. Kel _never_ breaks her promises and why do I even need to tell you this?" Neal took a deep breath. "I'm worried. I don't know what's happen to her. I don't know where she's gone off too. I don't know any of the answers here and I hate it. Owen of Jesslaw and Seaver both still have yet to hear from her. It's been a month. Over a month." Neal dug the last letter from Kel out of his breast pocket. Cane cheeped at him. "Sorry Cane," he apologized. He unfolded the letter. "'Neal, you must be excited about the wedding! It's only a month and a week away. I surely can't wait to get there myself and congratulate you both. It's almost a fairytale wedding, two of my best friends marrying each other. Tobe's doing well, he still looks like my servant and he's such a good lad. I really don't know why that innkeeper treated him so poorly.

'I saw the Lioness two days ago. I ran into her, quite literally, with her husband. Both send their love and asked me to tell you they'd be in Corus soon. Speaking of being in Corus, I should be there _no later than two weeks before the wedding_. I _promise you_.'"

Neal looked at Raoul with raised eyebrows. "You see why I worry?"

Raoul nodded. "I see why, Neal, but you can't let yourself get so worried about her. Kel can take care of herself."

Duke Baird's oldest son fumbled for words that wouldn't come out. He hadn't imagined he could be so appalled by Raoul's behavior, considering he was the Giantkiller, a great knight, the best aside from Alanna, and on top of it all he cared for Kel just as Neal did. "Yes. Yes Raoul, Kel can take care of herself just as she did not so long ago."

Cane shrilled her agreement.

"Well..." Raoul leaned forward on his desk. He had never seen Neal so worked up over _anyone_, not even Yuki. "I can't send one of my troops. Jonathan cursed me thrice over when I came back to the castle and told me not to do it again." He sighed. "'You could have gotten your men killed. You could have gotten Mindelan killed, and what's more--you could have gotten three more of our knights _and_ a squire killed!' He wouldn't listen to me no matter how I denied only asking Dom's squad to go after Kel."

Neal rose and sighed. "I have to go."

"Neal," Raoul warned.

Neal rounded to face Raoul with such a determined expression the older knight knew there was no arguing. Neal's was best friends with Kel and the former squire of Alanna, _the_ most stubborn person Raoul had ever known. So he stepped down from the argument.

"Just be careful. Don't attempt a rescue mission alone if she's been captured."

"I'm not an idiot, Raoul."

Raoul refrained from telling Neal just how much of an idiot he really was. Instead, he nodded and watched Neal leave the room. Neal stormed down the King's Own headquarters hallway, ran to the stables, and burst through the door. The hostlers stopped in their work and blinked against the harsh sunlight at the shadowed knight.

It wasn't until that moment that it occurred to Neal that perhaps he should send a message to Yuki, telling her his intentions. He grumbled and fled the stable, Cane fluttering about his head as he ran. At least Cane would accompany him if no one else would, and quite frankly he would rather have the sparrow, who "spoke" little and had a soft pace in his heart, than a chattering human who would tell him he had gone mad and drag him back to Corus. Kel would never try to talk him around. She never called him mad and took him back to his room like a child.

Kel was in trouble. Neal would save her, or die trying.

When Neal reached Yuki's room, he had grown even more frustrated with himself and lack of initiative that he almost left Corus without alerting Yuki first. However, his sense of duty placed Yuki before Kel because of the wedding. Politely, Neal rapped on her door, which branched off from Shinkokami's room near Prince Roald's.

Yuki opened the door and smiled at him. Living in the Corus court so long had loosened some of her Yamani stone-faced training. "Neal."

"Yuki." Neal nodded. Her smile faded at the lack of luster in her betrothed's eyes.

"...Why do you look at me like that?" Yuki's face melted back into her Yamani mask. "You look as if you have seen a ghost."

"I'm off to go find Kel," Neal nodded, determination and stubborness etched on the lines of his face. Worry deepened those lines.

Yuki coughed behind her fan to collect her wits. The news had hit like a bag of bricks. She slowly lowered her fan, folded it in her lap, and look Neal in the eyes. "What has happened to Lady Keladry?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm off to find her. Yuki...I don't know when I'll return. We'll have to postpone the wedding," Neal said. It broke his heart to leave her so suddenly, just after he had gotten her back without other pressing priorities.

"I will not allow you to travel alone, Neal. I will accompany you," Yuki told him determinedly.

"No," Neal shook his head. "I can't let you. I promise I'll come back to you, Yuki. Just give me a few weeks to find Kel so she can be your maid of honor and I can keep an eye on her."

Yuki studied him and searched his eyes for something. She must have found it, because when she did she put on a brave smile and kissed Neal softly. "Find Kel, Neal. Find Kel and bring her back to Corus, wherever she is."

"That's the plan," Neal chuckled lightly. Now he wasn't so sure he wanted to leave, but Kel could be lying somewhere, dying, as he dawdled with his betrothed. "I promise you...as soon as I find Kel...I will bring her back her. We _will_ marry, Yuki. But I really must go. Every moment I spend here with you is another moment Kel could be dying somewhere."

Yuki nodded. She watched him leave and called out as he did, "I love you!"

He paused in the door and looked over his shoulder, nodding. "I'll come back. I promise."

Yuki cast her eyes down as Neal completely exited the room. Feeling quite free to go roam about the country, Neal ran down the hallway and nearly knocked Roald off of his feet. "Sorry!" he yelled, scrambling down the hall.

"Slow down!" Roald yelled back at him. But, curious, Roald turned to follow Neal as soon as he got his bearings back. "Neal!"

"Can't talk!" Neal answered.

"Neal, stop!" Roald told him in his regal tone.

Neal's feet stopped of their own accord. He sighed frustratedly. "What is it, Roald?"

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Roald jogged and caught up with his friend and former study-buddy.

"I have to go find Kel. Ask Yuki for the full story--though I'm sure she's already told Princess Shinkokami by now," Neal edged towards the stables. "Listen, Roald, I really have to go. I don't know what has happened to Kel and I would really like to find out."

Roald shrugged. "Off with you then," he said with raised eyebrows. "Find Kel?" Neal heard him murmur before he was too far off. "Where has she gotten to then?"

Neal burst into the stables once more and found his riding horse already saddled. He scratched his head and approached his mount, wondering how the hostlers had known to prepare his horse. He realized that Yuki may have told them while he was racing from Shinkokami's quarters to the stable. He didn't question it though, simply mounted the horse with Cane perched on his shoulder and rode out onto the road. He noticed his saddlebags had been packed and a bag of his things already prepared.

Cane darted at the horse's mane and caught a fluttering piece of paper. She flew back and forth in front of Neal's face until he halted the horse and took the paper.

_Queenscove:_

_I sent for your bags and had your horse saddled because of your spontaneous nature. May the Goddess be with you on this venture, Neal, you'll need to be gods-touched to find Kel and not have her beat you with a stick for "abandoning" Lady Yukimi..._

_--Raoul_

Neal laughed and tucked the note into one of the saddlebags. It hadn't even occurred to him that Raoul would saddle his horse for him, considering the way the master of the King's Own had objected to this ordeal.

Cane resumed her perch on Neal's shoulder for a small time before deciding she would rather fly. She sang as she glided along the thermals in the air and Neal had a good feeling about this trek. He would find Kel, he would heal her, and he would bring both Kel and Tobe back to Corus. The wedding would proceed as planned, albeit slightly later than scheduled, but he would be married to the woman he loved and his best friend would be safe at home--

--"He's just trying to keep me away from the _real_ fighting. My lord Wyldon doesn't seem to think I'm capable of fighting the Scanrans."--

Cane cheeped at him, noticing he had distracted himself. He jumped and his horse pranced nervously. "Whoa, whoa." Neal steadied the mare and nudged her forward. "Even if I wanted to go back now...I'm not too far from the stables."

Cane shrilled angrily at him, darting around his head.

"All right, all right! I miss Kel too, we'll go find her, but Cane...don't you do anything foolish, you hear me?" Neal said as he shook his finger at her. Cane peeped and darted into the trees, leaving Neal alone with his thoughts.

To tell the truth, Neal found himself both surprised and concerned that all who wanted to go with him was Yuki, and simply because she was concerned for _his_ safety and not Kel's.

"Well!" Neal said aloud. "Looks like the only two who care enough about Kel to be worried are us, and we're the only ones worried enough to go search for her. I bet she'll be happiest to see us, don't you think, Cane?"

She cheeped from somewhere ahead. Neal laughed, pleased to have the sparrow rather than Yuki along with the trip. Yuki had no battle experience, aside from glaive training, and would be more of a hindrance because she wasn't used to open road traveling. She was a pampered princess's lady, not made for the open road and harsh conditions.

The sun sank beyond the tree line when Neal was forced to dismount and lead his mare by the reins as Cane perched on his shoulder and slept. He hadn't realized how little daylight remained when he left the castle. From markings on the road, Neal estimated he was about half a mile from the first wayhouse and inn on the northern trail.

His mare whuffed and shook her head, huffing with every step.

"I'm sorry, girl," Neal stroked her nose. "You'll get rest soon. We just have to make it to the inn."

She whinnied but plodded on anyway. Neal's own feet had grown sore as well, as he hadn't changed into a softer pair of boots before leaving and felt a blister or two developing on his feet from the excessive walking. Cane jerked awake every few steps, not finding herself able to sleep with Neal talking to his mare more to keep himself awake rather than talking for the company of it.

The inn was certainly a sight for sore eyes when they reached it. A torch glowed outside the door and Neal had to resist the urge to run to it. He approached the door and knocked on it. The innkeeper staggered to the door and pulled it open. He peered at Neal. "We're closed for the night. Go to the inn about a mile ahead."

Neal presented the badge marking him as a knight of Tortall to the innkeeper. "I need a place to spend the night. I've been on the road since midday and on my feet half that time. I have money, and I will even pay extra for the inconvenience."

The innkeeper pursed his lips and thought about it. He opened the door wider and allowed Neal access to the lobby. "Just ye wait here, I'll go rouse one of the hostlers to take ye horse for ye."

Neal nodded, "Thank you."

The innkeeper left and did as he claimed. He came back and found Neal in the same position leaning against the wall as he had left the knight. "Come, Sir..." the innkeeper grabbed a torch from the wall and held it so he could read the coat of arms on the badge. "Sir Queenscove."

"Sir Neal is fine, if you," Neal covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned, "if you please."

The innkeeper nodded and logged the name down in the record book. "Why didn't ye stay at the wayhouse, Sir Neal? With all due respect, my lord."

"Because my mount needs rest as much as I do," Neal answered, glancing around the lobby. He had nearly fallen asleep when the innkeeper left him propped against the wall and hadn't looked at his surroundings. To his left a staircase climbed the wall to a second floor, torches mounted on the wall with fitted iron holdings. Directly to the left of the staircase a small hallway extended out to the privy, with the innkeeper's quarters tucked next to the staircase. A counter extended out from the stairwell with a wrack of numbers slots for messages from couriers to the current inn residences gathered. To the right of the lobby counter was the kitchen, and in the center of it all sat a large rug in the shape of Tortall in Tortallan colors. Chairs and benches with furs draped over them sat around the rug, facing the fireplace and the three windows facing the road. Some of the chairs had tables in front of them.

Neal dragged himself up the stairs, thoroughly tired after walking more than two miles on foot. Cane woke up and fluttered over to the windowsill, and Neal, ever the soft-hearted healer, pulled a handkerchief out of his bag and made it into a small nest. "G'night, Cane."

She cheeped her goodnight and fell promptly asleep. Neal kicked off his boots and laid back on the quilted straw mattress, glanced around the room once, and fell instantly asleep.


	2. Chasing Shadows

**Title**: Free Falling  
**Chapter**: Two--Chasing Shadows  
**Author**: Arsahi  
**Rated**: T  
**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything in this fic except the plot. I'm not selling it for profit nor am I selling it at all. All belongs to Tamora Pierce...even Neal. Actually, I think I may have rights to Cane the Sparrow (though the concept is TP's) and the inn-keeper from the previous chapter...  
**Dedication**: To every Kealer out there!**  
**

**Chasing Shadows **

Neal woke the next morning with a start, mumbling "Kel!" sleepily. He had had a rather disheartening dream that Kel's body had fallen off a cliff and into the Emerald Ocean, never to be found again, and Neal spent years and years looking for her when he finally found the cliff she had fallen from. Her sword, shield, badge with coat of arms, and the limp body of Jump laid at the edge of the cliff, as if she had purposely chosen to do so. Tobe sat at the base of the cliff, on the beach, and had affixed a crude headstone to a patch of beached kelp. He sobbed, claiming the kelp was Kel simply because it was her name with a 'p' as a suffix. Neal had looked out into the ocean and Kel's ghost rose from the mists, like in one of the legends he had heard from Dom.

"I am not in Tortall," Kel had told him. "I am not in Tortall and have not been for two months."

He had frowned. "But you're right here, on Tortall territory..."

She had screamed then and an anguished cry escaped Neal's own mouth. He yelled her name. He yelled it loud and heard it ring across the ocean. Her ghost twisted and disappeared, and he yelled her name once more. Tobe had just risen to say something to Neal, but Cane hopped over and pecked him awake.

"Cane," Neal mumbled and slapped at his cheeks. His eyelids drooped groggily and his voice sounded like sandpaper. Cane hopped along his wrinkled pants until she reached the bed post. Neal gingerly touched his cheek and upon inspecting his fingers he determined they came away bloody. "Get me my handkerchief, please."

Cane chirped and retrieved the handkerchief he had used as her temporary nest. He raised an eyebrow at the thing's cleanliness and folded it over twice before dabbing at the blood on his cheek. Someone knocked at Neal's door, calling, "Sir?"

Neal raised an eyebrow. "Mithros," he muttered under his breath. He had hardly gotten his comprehension skills back when his visitor decided now would be a pleasant time to knock on his door. "Who calls?"

"Sir, royal couriers are standin' outside the door with an urgent message for ye," the innkeeper answered.

Royal couriers? This piqued Neal's curiosity. "Tell them I'd like to make myself decent before accepting their message."

"Yessir, as ye lordship wishes," the innkeeper hurried off. Neal had a room facing the back of the inn, overlooking the forest.

"Actually, it's dukeship or knightship, but if you don't want to get picky about it," Neal murmured. He realized then he should probably send his own courier out to investigate. "Cane." She flew over and perched on his outstretched finger. "See if there are Tortallan couriers out there. If they're Tortallan, they're friends. Do you know Prince Roald's couriers colors?" Cane meeped, tilting her head to the side. "They're fringed in royal purple. If they're Tortallan couriers fringed in royal purple, those are friends. Otherwise, they aren't."

Cane chirped and flew out of the window. By the time Neal had splashed his face with cold water from the basin by his window and pulled on a clean pair of breeches, Cane had returned. She flew in the tight circle, the signal for 'friend'.

Neal sighed. "Roald's couriers, eh? Wonder why he would send his own couriers after me."

Just as the knight changed his shirt the innkeeper came back to his door. "S-sir Neal," the innkeeper stammered, "they request your immediate presence."

Neal opened the door and said, "Impeccable timing, dear fellow. I didn't catch your name last night as I was falling asleep on my feet?"

"L-Ladour, if it pleases my lord," the innkeeper said as he fiddled with his apron.

"Well, Ladour, I would like a tub of hot water drawn by the time I return to my room," Neal requested as they descended the staircase.

"Certainly." Ladour nodded. "Breakfast too, my lord?"

"Yes," Neal said jovially as he breezed through the front door, Cane on his shoulder. "Hello, lads. What brings you way out here?"

"We have direct orders to deliver this message into your hands by His Highness, Prince Roald," the male courier out of the two standing in front of him said.

The female courier handed him the message. "Having done our duty, we shall wait for your response to Prince Roald's urgent message."

Neal opened the letter and said absently to Cane, "Can you fetch me my pen, sweetheart?"

The female courier stiffened. Cane cheeped, rubbed her head against Neal's ear and took off to Neal's room.

_Neal:_

_We received an anonymous tip today that Kel has been captured by a band of Bazhir rebels heading towards Galla. You may want to chase this lead, you may not. Your decision. I recommend you follow every lead you come across, but this is your search. One of the leads you find is bound to lead you to Kel and the rest of your life._

_--Roald_

Cane returned with the pen. Quickly, Neal wrote a reply:

_R;_

_Am heading on G.R.N. to G.R.E. to G. asap. Thanks for the tip._

_--Neal_

Neal folded the message and slid it back into the original envelope. He crossed out the addressee as himself to Prince Roald of Corus and handed it to the female courier. "Thank you. Tell His Highness that I tell him, sarcastically, that I think of him every moment of every minute of every hour I'm away."

The couriers nodded, saluted, and remounted their horses, heading back to Corus. It occurred to him that maybe Roald wouldn't be able to decipher Neal's code of 'G.R.N.' for Great Road North or 'G.R.E.' for Great Road East or 'G.' for Galla, then chuckled at himself and muttered, "They don't call me 'Sir Meathead' for nothing, right, Cane?"

Cane chirped.

"You weren't supposed to agree, you silly girl," he told her dryly.

Cane just looked up at him with that eerie human-like intelligence as they climbed the stairs.

Neal rolled his eyes, shed his clothes, and sank into the steaming tub of water by the fireplace. The only part Neal hated about the open road was the lack of clean water to bathe in and the rapid rate at which one became dirty again. He glanced at the sparrow perched on the tray that held his breakfast and sighed uneasily. He reached for the soap and cloth sitting beside the tub and said to Cane, "Once we get into Corus, I promise you I'll feed you dried cherries."

Cane shrilled happily.

"Until then, help yourself to the fruit there," he told her. He had glimpsed a strawberry or two sitting on the tray and knew she would like them. While he washed, Cane picked at one of the three ripe berries happily. As he dried himself off and clothed himself, she flittered around the room anxiously. "Contain yourself, Cane," he told her as he pulled his riding boots on. "I want to get done too, especially since she may have been captured by Bazhir..."

He rose, ran his fingers through his hair, grabbed his bag, and thundered down the stairs with Cane behind him. He paused at the lobby counter in front of Laroud. "How much do you need for one night?"

Laroud took a moment not to register that Neal was trying to pay for his night spent in the room, not trying to make Laroud out to be something disrespectful. He wordlessly pointed to the sign, took the money, placed it in a locking box, marked off in his book that Neal had paid and nodded to him. "Pleasant trip, Sir Neal."

"Thank you, Laroud," Neal left the inn itself and walked out to the stables, where he prepared his horse for the day's ride. Neal kept dropping the brush as he tried to hurry. "Dammit all!" he cursed, sputtering in his rush. He took a deep breath, picked the brush up from the hay, and let it out slowly. "All right. Calm down, Queenscove. She's all right. Kel's not stupid."

Neal had to tell himself every time he dropped something that Kel was intelligent enough to go along with whatever the Bazhir asked of her, short of giving herself to them. He would charge in, just as Raoul had warned him not to, and rescue Kel. He would heal whatever scrapes and cuts she had and gallop back to Corus. Everyone would thank him, including Kel, and the wedding would proceed.

Neal nodded and finally saddled his mare, a horse he had only gotten from his father's brother three weeks ago. They had named her Seiryn, and she was a fine riding horse, part Clydesdale, built for a knight.

"Good girl, Seiryn." Neal stroked the horse's nose. He bridled her and lead her out of the stable, Cane gliding on the air behind him. Starting at a brisk trot, he knew Seiryn would be able to handle the pace for a mile or so before she had to walk without his weight on her back.

"Kel, Kel, Kel," he murmured. He daydreamed while Seiryn walked the road of her own accord, and before he knew it they were right outside of the capital of Tortall.

"Good job, Seiryn," Neal told her softly as he rode her through the market, stopping at a dried fruit stand to buy Cane the dried cherries he promised her. It took him almost thirty minutes to reach the center of town, a big Clydesdale mare not exactly fitting through narrow back alleyways, and having to stop for children incessantly hindered his travel.

"Neal!"

Neal glanced over his shoulders and around as far as he could. He could have sworn he heard someone call his name, but maybe he just had an auditory hallucination. Second day on the road and already he had started hallucinating. "Bloody wonderful," Neal murmured to himself.

"Neal!"

Neal whirled in his saddle this time, flinching slightly. "Who calls for me?"

"Neal! Over here!" A hand waved wildly from below heads.

Then Neal recognized the voice. "Owen!" he said incredulously. He jumped from his saddle, grabbed Seiryn's reins and pressed his way through the crowd to his young friend. "What are you doing here?"

Owen sighed. "I was going to surprise you by showing up for your wedding. Surprise you and Merric and Roald and Kel because I figured you would have a jolly good time and I wanted to be there with you. When I got here Roald told me that you had left...but you're back!"

Neal grimaced inwardly. "Not exactly. I have...some business to take care of in Galla...I just thought I would use Corus as a shortcut from the Great Road North to the Great Road East."

Owen stared at him like he had gone mad. Quite frankly Neal had grown tired of that expression and sighed, waiting for Owen to tell him what undoubtedly foolish move he had made. "How far north were you?"

"Three or four miles," Neal answered.

"Oh. I was thinking you had gone farther. The way Roald described it you were having yourself a good run from a pack of spidrens," Owen laughed. "You know that if you travel the Great Road East you have to go into Tusaine and up into Galla?"

"Yes," Neal nodded. "Listen, Owen...I really must be own my way now."

"Shall I send Lady Yukimi your love?" Owen asked.

"Er...yes," Neal said uncomfortably, mounting Seiryn. Cane chirped at Owen, who waved, and Neal turned to start leaving.

"Say, Neal," Owen pressed, "what business do you have in Galla? I never heard of you having anything to do with Galla. The only reason I've ever seen you even go north was for the war..."

"Just business Owen, all right?" Neal replied without turning to look at his friend.

Owen gasped. "You...you don't have a secret lover in Galla, do you!"

Neal almost fell off of Seiryn in his shock that Owen would even suggest such a notion. "No!" he cried, turning back around. "Kel's gone missing and I'm off to find her. I heard she was in Galla. Now go back to the palace before you get yourself in even more trouble than you were when you took off out of the Stump's squiredom last summer."

"Neal, you can't go frollicking off and have yourself a jolly rumble with Kel's kidnappers without me," Owen protested.

"Kidnappers? Owen...do you know something about what happened to Kel?" Neal demanded, frowning. Then he remembered that he was supposed to ride the Great Road East to Galla, not have idle chit-chat with one of his friends.

"No. Neal, you wait here and I'll go get Happy!" Owen told him. "Just wait here--"

"Right. Wait here," Neal agreed. He had every intention of pushing Seiryn down the street in the market to the Great Road East as soon as Owen was out of sight. Owen would just get himself into trouble for leaving Corus without permission if he went with Neal. Neal would not have minded having Owen along on the trip if, and only if, the boy had permission. Permission for something like this would be undeniably refused, and since Owen knew that, he would just take Happy and go running with Neal.

Owen disappeared into a back alleyway and Neal took off. Children scrambled away from Seiryn and the big scary healer knight as they pressed onward and finally left Corus. Neal kicked Seiryn into a heavy canter, trying to put as much space between himself and Owen as he could. He really didn't want to get the young boy in trouble, not when he had so much ahead. In fact, Neal hadn't even intended to tell Owen of Kel's disappearance, knowing that he would try to accompany Neal in finding their friend and be accused of abandonment or some such legal thing.

Not something Neal wanted on his conscience.

Neal had Seiryn canter until he could just barely see the peaks of the palace any longer and allowed her a slower, meandering walk. Only if Owen forced Happy to gallop would he catch up with Neal then, and if he stopped and took to the woods Owen would have a hard time picking up his trail again. Neal felt bad tricking Owen but he had no other choice. He wasn't about to get Owen's privileges taken from him and get his knight master taken away.

Suddenly, the great thundering hooves of a heavyset riding horse much like Seiryn came from behind Neal. He whirled around to see a cloud of dirt and a chestnut steed coming straight towards him. Seiryn pawed the ground nervously, Neal pulling her closer to the trees lining the Great Road East only to have the oncoming horse and rider halt in front of him.

"Merric!" Neal exclaimed, relieved to see a friend and that said friend wasn't the very one he had left behind. Then Neal raised his eyebrows. "...What brings you this far out on the Great Road East?"

"I'm looking for Kel, that's what," Merric said airily. Cane came flittering back to Neal after realizing he didn't follow her anymore and chirped at Merric. "Hello, Cane. Still following," Merric's lips twitched into a half-smirk, "still following Meathead?"

Cane perched on Neal's shoulder as he rolled his eyes at Merric. "Decided you finally cared enough about Kel to come with me?"

Merric scowled at Neal. "I didn't 'decide I cared enough.' I always cared enough. You must have realized that most of Kel's friends are the people in high-ranking places that can't just drop everything and go off on a directionless rescue mission?"

Neal paused and let that thought sink in. "...Oh. Right."

"Spontaneity is your virtue and your curse, Queenscove," Merric chuckled. "Owen came to tell me he had seen you in the market and he had gotten his horse and went back to where he left you only to find you had left him. He told me you had taken off after Kel. Imagine my surprise when I find out from someone else that your 'ride to calm down' turned into a 'rescue mission to calm down.' So, here I am. Raoul wanted me to tell you that he wishes he could have sent a squad with you but my lord King Jonathan told him not to spare one unit."

Neal lost some of his righteous anger after hearing Merric's story. "I see. Well then. I suppose you're going to ride with me?" he asked as Merric nodded. "Then our destiny lies in Galla, or so Roald told me."

Merric nodded again. "Then off to Galla we go."

* * *

Two nights later, Neal and Merric sat kitty cornered to each other around a fire. They had just finished eating the night's meal and now just took the time to relax. Neither of them had stayed at an inn the night before and felt dirty, but coped. Neal tried to think of something to say to Merric, but couldn't think of anything that didn't revolve around Kel.

"How much money do we have left?" Merric asked. "We should have quite a bit since we've neglected to stay at an inn."

Neal passed his coin purse to Merric and set to work cleaning the dishes with a soapy rag.

Merric accepted the bag and counted the coins, then counted his own and added the total in his head. "We have plenty of money." He wrote the total down on a piece of paper and folded it, shoving it into one of his saddle bags. "We can afford to stay at inns from here to eternity if we wanted."

"Eternity?" Neal laughed. "I don't think so." He rose, carrying the soapy dishes, "I'll be back in a couple minutes. I just want to rinse these off."

Merric nodded and watched Neal leave. He set up his sleeping space and had almost settled down for the night when couriers in Roald's colors came galloping up to Neal and Merric's temporary camp. He sighed and climbed to his feet.

"Sir Merric?" asked the male courier that had come to Neal three days prior.

Merric nodded. He did a lot nodding nowadays. "Yes."

"I have a message to you from His Highness Prince Roald," he dismounted and bowed to Merric, handed him the message. "Where has Sir Neal gone?"

"To fetch some water and clean our dishes," Merric answered. "I'll accept his message for him and give it to him myself if you don't mind."

The female courier dismounted and bowed to Merric. "I have specific orders from my lord Prince Roald to deliver this message to Sir Neal."

Merric shrugged. "Neal!" he called. "Neal, you have a message!"

Neal came running back, clean, wet dishes in hand. He quickly packed them away and ran over to the female courier. "...Hello again."

"Sir Neal," the courier said, bowing.

"Do you have a name I can call you? I feel rather silly seeing you so often and not calling you by your name," Neal asked, accepting the message from her.

"Harrel," she answered. "They call me Harrel."

Neal nodded. "Thanks. And what's yours?" he looked to the male courier.

"Jak," he supplied.

"Right. Harrel and Jak," Neal agreed. "Thank you both for riding out to find me."

The couriers mounted and rode off, not bothering to wait for a reply back. Neal only guessed that they expected the two knights to find a courier on their own to take their message back to Corus. Neal didn't particularly care either way, he didn't find himself offended easily. He was a generally easygoing man, as far as nobility went. Neal opened his letter:

_Neal:_

_I know you aren't in Galla by now, and I found that Kel hasn't been captured by Bazhir rebels and taken there. You're welcome to go to Galla and see for yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it. I have just heard from a very reliable source that Kel has been taken to Carthak. If you head south to Pirate's Swoop, Barron George has promised you a ship to Carthak whenever you arrive._

_--Roald_

"Thanks a lot, Roald," Neal muttered darkly, thoroughly tired. Merric looked at his companion with raised eyebrows, an unasked question. "He just wrote to tell me that Kel is supposedly in Carthak now, not Galla."

"Hm," Merric commented as he reread his letter. "Roald ordered me to buy something called the 'Abscador Scroll' if we travel through Scanra."

Neal thought the title of the scroll was a bit obscure, and not to mention that the contents of the scroll were written in an ancient language long dead and still undeciphered, but shrugged and found it none of his business. "Well. Which of us is on sentry du--" even before Neal had finished the question Merric had shimmied into his blankets and snored lightly. "--ty first...all right then."

* * *

Five days later, Merric and Neal crossed the River Olorun, listening to a story from the boatman about the river. Supposedly back when one of the kings was a boy a battle took place along the river between feuding fiefs and for a day the river ran red.

"Dat's where dees lady got 'er name," the boatman told them. He rowwed the knight across the river. "'Olo' means blood in de Ancient, and 'run' means run. Olorun: blood run."

Neal nodded. "Right." He waited for Merric to climb off of the boat and turned to the boatman. "How much do I owe you?" he asked, and the boatman told him. Neal paid him and paused before climbing off of the boat. "Say, have you seen a tall woman with short, light brown hair and gorgeous eyes? She's the other lady knight of the realm..."

"Hmm," the boatman sat and thought. "Yep, yep I seen her. I seen her wit' a couple a big brutes, big brutes wit' Scanran blood in 'em _and_ some Carthaki."

Neal raised his eyebrows. He had never heard of a anyone who had Carthaki and Scanran blood in them. Unless the boatman had gone nearly blind in his old age, this seemed a rather large clue. "Did they say where they were going?"

"Dey was goin' south. Takin' dees great big road way t' Maren, dey was," the boatman said adamantly. "Said somethin' 'bout meetin' a counsel on a rendezvous in de Great Inlan' Sea."

Neal and Merric exchanged glances. Merric looked to the boatman and asked, "How long ago did you see them?"

"Hmmm." The boatman sat back on his heels and twisted his gray beard. His hands shook with old age and his eyes squinted from most of his life transporting people back and forth across the Olorun. "'Bout...t'ree or four days, at de most. Not enuff time t' get t' de Inlan', but dey is pro'ly in Maren now."

Neal and Merric nodded at the same time. "Thanks," Neal told him and climbed off of the boat with Merric's help. The boat transporting the duo's horses came to dock shortly after they had arrived. Once they paid for the services, they mounted and started off at a fast trot. "This is getting strange. What happened to Kel?"

Cane shrilled and perched on Seiryn's mane.

"Roald heard she had been kidnapped by Bazhir rebels and taken to Galla, right?" Merric asked. Neal nodded. "Then she's been taken to Carthak. Or, she's been taken to Maren and on a boat into the Great Inland Sea."

Neal growled under his breath. "Where's the connection? We only have three leads. There's a connection...there's a connection somewhere."

"Well, most likely they stayed at an inn, afraid Kel would attack them if there were just two of them, like the boatman told us," Merric asserted. "I think our best bet would be to each stay at an inn and ask around."

"Mithros," Neal murmured.

"Neal?" Merric asked.

"Tobe. He didn't say anything about a young boy being with them. Tobe, Hoshi, Peachblossom...none of them," Neal explained. "So there's another question: what happened to _them_? If something happened to Tobe...Kel would be crushed."

"I know," Merric agreed. "I was at Haven too, remember?"

Neal rolled his eyes. They pressed onward.

* * *

That night at the inn they had chosen to stay at, Neal and Merric enjoyed a well-rounded meal, other than the stew they had been making for the past week or so. They leaned back in their chairs with full bellies, Neal enjoying a nice cup of warm cider and Merric sipping at a cup of brandy.

"So, Sirs," one of the ladies sitting at the table began. "What're your names again?"

"I'm Neal and he's Merric," Neal answered. "And you're Lady Galderra, if memory serves."

Flattered, Lady Galderra blushed and smiled. "Yes I am. How kind of you to remember, Sir Neal."

He winked at her, having fun with some of his old flirtatious habits.

Merric just rolled his eyes and turned to the lady next to him.

Lady Galderra moved up to the seat on the side of Neal that Merric didn't sit on. "Where are you from, Sir Neal? Meaning, what's your full name, of course."

"Nealan of Queenscove, m'lady," he said as he kissed the top of Lady Galderra's hand.

Merric muttered to Neal, "Don't forget about Yuki."

Neal muttered back, "Don't spoil my fun."

Lady Galderra batted her eyelashes at Neal. "Sir Nealan of Queenscove, hm? Why, you must be Duke Baird's son!"

Neal nodded and smiled. "Yes I am. And _you_ must be the daughter of the Goddess, because your beauty is divine."

Lady Galderra blushed again and giggled flirtatiously. "Oh, Sir Neal, you are quite the flatterer."

He winked at her again. "I live to serve a lovely lady like you."

She giggled again.

Merric groaned. "Listen, Lady: Neal is betrothed to a Yamani lady. He's just flirting with you for sport."

"Oh Merric, spoil all my fun!" Neal jabbed his friend with his elbow. "Lady Galderra, I mean no disrespect by--"

"Sir Neal," Lady Galderra interrupted. "No disrespect is taken. 'Tis all in good fun."

Neal nodded. "By the way, have any of you beautiful ladies seen a tall woman with short light brown hair wearing the badge of the female knight of Tortall?"

The ladies discussed amongst themselves as the lords grunted in contempt.

"What Neal meant to say was have _any_ of you seen her," Merric corrected.

The lords discussed amongst themselves.

"I have," Lady Sativec answered. "About six days ago my husband and I were traveling and saw her with three men. One wore the mark of a university mage and the other two looked rather...muscled. The mage looked Gallan, one of the muscled men looked Bazhir, and the other looked Scanran."

"Where did you see them?" Neal asked.

"Fief Madiver," Lady Sativec said definitely.

"Did you happen to speak with them at all?" Neal hoped.

Lady Sativec shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, no. Is this the Yamani lady you are betrothed too? I must say, you love her very much."

Neal's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "No, that's not my Yamani lady. She's my best friend."

The ladies murmured amongst themselves. Neal shot Merric a death glare for interrupting his flirting with Lady Galderra and starting the whole conversation. Merric kicked him under the table and laughed as Neal scowled at him.

"Well," Merric said, rising to his feet. "I think Neal and I will be going to bed now. Perhaps we'll see some of you in the morning?"

"Goodbye, Sir Merric," waved the lady he had sat with.

Merric nodded. "I'll see you in the morning, Lady Ferrin."

Neal elbowed him suggestively as they climbed the stairs to their room. "Sweet on her, eh?"

"Like you're sweet on Kel."

"Oh ha ha."


	3. For the Sake of Kel

**Title:** Free Falling  
**Chapter:** Three--For the Sake of Kel (3/30)  
**Author:** Arsahi  
**Rated:** T  
**Disclaimer:** Standard disclaimers apply.  
**Dedication:** To every Kealer out there!  
**Thanks:** Thanks Trisana McGraw, mandy, lulu, Larzdinn/Edi, Camisole, Keita, and Lady Katharine Heartspark.  
**Author's notes:** I felt I should probably point out that this is a post-Scanran war story. Kel's not in command of New Hope any more because Wyldon relieved Neal, Kel, and Merric of their duties there, assigning three others their jobs.

Also, I would like to say a special thank you to Camisole and qt4eva435, my betas.

Hm. Another thing about this. I spent a while working on it. I really like the way it turned out. I find myself liking to write this thing more and more, and the more feedback I get on this the better I feel about it. I really don't care if it's constructive criticism or no, either way it makes me want to improve my writing.

Lady Katharine Heartspark--thank you for offering to be my beta. I don't know about three betas, but I'll email you as soon as I can about it.

Also, sorry it's taken so long for this part! The next part may be even longer to get out, as I'm working on a short story called The Gargoyle's Hour.

** For the Sake of Kel**

Merric thrust his sword through the last kidnapper surrounding Kel. Neal already raced towards Kel, who was bound to a pole on the other side of the room, but Merric beat him there. Merric sliced Kel's ropes and pulled them from her body as Kel collapsed into his arms. Her body shook as she cried from relief on his shoulder. "Merric, Merric..." she sobbed. "Merric, I'm so happy to see you."

Merric hugged Kel close. "You're a sight for sore eyes too, Kel." He stroked her back, awkwardly because she was so tall. He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, you're in good hands now."

Neal felt so relieved to see Kel that he almost broke down and cried himself. At least she was safe now. He knew she at least had a cut or two, no one could go through something like a rough kidnapping without a cut or a bruise, but he would heal her. He would heal her, she would be happy, he could get married.

"Kel," Neal said softly, approaching her.

She ignored him. "Merric...I'm so glad you came for me...you're the only one who did."

Neal's jaw dropped. "Kel!" he exclaimed. "Kel...I...no!" he finally said. "I came after you! Not Merric!"

Kel finally noticed Neal and looked over Merric's shoulder at him. "Neal? What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you defeat whoever had kidnapped you," Neal told her, his eyes clouded with confusion. He reached out to hold one of her hands sitting on Merric's shoulder, but she flexed her fingers through each other behind Merric's neck. "Kel..."

"Neal...don't lie to me. I know Merric came. He saved me. I don't know why you're here." Kel shrugged, sniffing and reaching to wipe the remnants of her tears from her cheek, but Merric kissed them away.

"I think he's in love with you, darling," Merric said softly to Kel.

She giggled and looked at Neal, then laughed and buried her head on Merric's shoulder. "How cute. Neal's in love with me."

Neal's mouth worked to answer her but he couldn't force anything out. When he finally regained control of his mouth, he cried, "I'm not in love with you!"

"And he's in denial," Kel snickered.

"Kel!" Neal shouted. "Don't you...you know me! I'm not in love with you!" She turned her back on him. "Kel!" she wrapped her arms around Merric. "_Kel_!"

Neal fell to the floor with a muffled thud. He opened his eyes and looked at the wooden floor, feeling a splinter dig into his palm. Cane hopped up next to him, cheeping quietly and looking at him cockeyed. "...Hello, Cane. This is quite a lovely floor, don't you think?"

Cane chirped and hopped up to where Neal previously laid, settling in the warm place. Merric climbed over Neal's bed to stand at his friend's feet. "...Neal, what are you doing down there?"

"Examining the floor for scuff marks and asking it if it had seen Kel," he answered. "No stone unturned, no floor plank unasked."

Merric rolled his eyes. "Get up, you dolt."

"Didn't they stop using the word 'dolt' when you're father was a squire?" Neal replied.

Merric kicked him and dressed himself behind the dressing screen in the corner of the room.

"I love you too, Merric," Neal told him.

"Don't ever tell me that again," Merric asked of him, changing his shirt as he spoke. "Or I will be forced to hurt you."

"Haven't you already hurt me?" Neal asked as he sat on the edge of his bed, giving Cane a dirty look for abducting his spot. Later, Neal would swear up and down that she had smirked at him.

"Have I mentioned how incredibly funny you are, Neal?" Merric returned as he walked out from behind the dressing screen, plopping on top of his bed and tying his boots.

Neal ducked behind the dressing screen as Merric left for breakfast. Neal thought back to his nightmare and shook his head. Did he, somewhere unconsciously, think the only reason Merric came with him was because the other knight was in love with Kel? He knew where Merric's accusation that he was in love with Kel came from, the discussion from last night where he had implied Merric was sweet on the lady from the dining table. But did Merric's statement that Neal was sweet on Kel really affect him that much?

He wasn't in love with Kel. He was in love with Yuki.

Yuki. Neal frowned, stopping with his shirt halfway on his body. He hadn't given Yuki much thought since he left Corus. The wedding was scheduled for a couple of days ago. He wondered if Kel had found her way back to Corus and decided it would be in his best interest to write to Roald and ask if Kel had shown up.

Neal sat down and dug a piece of paper out of his supplies and a pen, then wrote:

_Roald:_

_Has there been any news of Kel? Merric and I are hot on the trail, I think. We've had a few leads, and a few people have actually spotted them. We're on our way to Maren, and the Inland Sea. From there we'll probably go to Pirate's Swoop, or just take a ship across the Inland to Carthak if our lead is false._

_--Neal_

He was folding it when Merric came back to the room carrying Neal's breakfast.

"Where've you been, Meathead?" Merric asked, taking a large bite out of a buttered roll.

"Don't call me that," Neal sighed, stuffing the paper into an envelope and writing Roald's name on the front of it.

"What's that?" Merric wanted to know as he motioned to the paper, stuffing the rest of the roll into his mouth.

"I'm letting Roald know where we're going, in case he needs to send word. As far he knows, we're on our way to Pirate's Swoop," Neal explained.

"Lady Galderra asked for you," Merric continued, nodding to Neal to acknowledge what he had told him. "I told her you would go down and speak with her in a few minutes."

"Thank you ever so, Merric," he answered dryly.

"I thought you would jump at the chance to go funning with her some more." Merric shrugged. "While you're down there I'll pack our things. Do you want to eat on the road or eat when you come back up here?"

"I'll eat when I come back," Neal decided, taking the letter and descending the stairs. His mind on Kel, he didn't notice when a cat darted underneath his feet and stepped on its tail. It yowled and sank its claws into his leg. "Ow! Shoo, cat! Go! Ow!" Neal ripped its bloody claws out of him and quickly healed himself. It hissed at him and tried to grab his arm and scratch his face. "Stupid cat," he growled. He reached the first floor of the inn and looked around. "Does anyone own a black and white speckled cat with a tendency to hiss and scratch?"

No one answered.

"Do we keep strays here?" Neal asked of those sitting in the lobby area. Again, no one answered. Neal sighed and grabbed a sack sitting on the counter, stuffing the cat inside and loosely tying the string around the top. He set the cat by the counter and looked around. "Has anyone seen Lady Galderra?"

Lady Galderra rose from her chair and approached Neal. "Sir Neal," she said and curtsied.

"Lady Galderra," Neal replied, bowing. "Merric informed me you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. I've just heard from a friend that the woman you're looking for has been spotted in Clorr's Hill, on the border of Tusaine and Tortall," Lady Galderra told him. "If you hurry, you and Sir Merric may make it there by nightfall." Galderra smiled prettily at him.

"Thank you, Lady Galderra," Neal said swiftly and smiled. He grabbed the cat in the bag and hurried up the stairs to the room. "Merric! We have an actual location!"

"Where?" Merric asked, shoving the last bit of clothing into their bags.

"Clorr's Hill," Neal replied.

Merric noticed the sack. "What have you got there?"

"Oh." Neal seemed to remember he held the cat. "It's a cat. A stray."

Merric sighed exasperatedly. "A cat, Neal?"

Neal shrugged. "I couldn't just let it stay here."

"You're as bad as Kel with the strays." Merric shook his head sadly. "Come on. We'd better go."

"Right." Neal nodded and grabbed his saddlebags, somehow managing to walk down the stairs with the cat in the bag. Merric paid the innkeeper, and they hurried off to the stables, saddling and bridling their horses, and leaving the inn.

The two knights, Cane, and the cat reached Clorr's Hill at two hours before nightfall. Merric looked to Neal and said, "Are you ready?"

Neal took a deep breath and said, "Yes. I'm going to enjoy beating her kidnappers' faces in."

Merric laughed, "You and I both."

They trotted into the fief of Clorr's Hill and peered around, watching every shadow that moved in every alleyway. "Where would she be?" Neal murmured to Merric. "Where did they go?"

Merric glanced around. "I'm not sure. We should probably ask around, see if anyone saw her."

"Right. Cane?" Neal tapped the sleeping sparrow. She looked at him groggily and cheeped in indignation. "Sorry, love. But can you take a look around for Kel? It's not dark yet."

Cane fluffed her feathers and chirped at him.

"I'm sorry, Cane. Please?" Neal pouted at her.

Merric thought he might just lose control and laugh at Neal if Cane didn't take off soon.

Cane made a whistling noise that sounded too much like an exasperated sigh and glided into the village.

"She's getting some more dried cherries when we stop for the night," Neal said decisively.

"Why, Neal," Merric chuckled, "how do you think Yuki would react to you replacing her with a sparrow?"

"Shut your face, Merric," Neal grumbled. Merric just laughed. "How about you take that side and I'll take this side?"

Merric looked at the left side of the main road leading to the lord of Clorr's Hill's castle and nodded. "Sounds good to me. We'll meet at the gates of the castle when we're done?"

Neal nodded and hopped from his saddle. The black and white speckled cat sat in the bag still, hanging from the saddle horn. He couldn't get proper footing to jump, so Neal felt certain that having him tied to the saddle horn was safe. "We need to give you a name," Neal murmured as he led Seiryn to the smithy. "How about 'Mace'? Since your claws hurt like a mace."

The cat meowed from inside the bag.

"Mace it is," Neal decided. He waited for the blacksmith to see him before he spoke. "Pardon me, sir?" he called over the din of metal hitting metal and the roaring fire. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"Make it quick." The blacksmith paused in his work.

"I'm Sir Nealan of Queenscove, knight of Tortall. I'm searching for a friend of mine who may have been abducted--perhaps you've seen her? She's gods-cursed taller than most people with short, light brown hair and hazel eyes? She's the other female knight, aside from the Lioness. She may have been with two or three men, one of which may have been a mage?" Neal described.

The blacksmith's face scrunched up in thought. He scratched his head and wiped his hands on his apron, offering Neal one of them. "Sacord," he shook Neal's hand, not offering the respect most commoners gave those of noble birth. "This girl--she from Mindelan?"

Neal nodded eagerly. "Yes. Yes she is."

"I seen her. She was with a mage and a big muscled bloke. Mage was a scrawny little thing, said he was from Galla or somewheres. I sold 'im a sword with some runes carved in--" Sacord was interrupted by Neal.

"Do you have a copy of the runes he asked you to inscribe? I'm a healer," he requested.

"Sittin' yonder on that table. Should be the first one." Sacord had picked up a pair of tongs by then and pointed at the desk.

Neal retrieved the paper and folded it, pocketing it for now. "Did you happen to see where they were going?"

"They was goin' up yonder to milord's castle," Sacord yelled over his hammering.

"Are they still there?" Neal shouted. He heard Mace yowling in the bag, and Seiryn pranced nervously.

"Should be. Said they was gonna stay till 'morrow," Sacord answered.

Neal's eyes went wide. "Gods all bless you, Master Sacord!" He swung onto Seiryn's saddle and kicked her into a gallop down to the end of the road to the gates. Merric came galloping up beside him. "They're in there!"

Merric nodded. "They are!"

Neal pulled a cord rigged to the gate that rang a bell inside the abatis. Within moments, two servants dressed in Clorr's Hill colors opened the gate, granting Merric and Neal access to the castle.

The servants took their mounts to the nearby stable as another approached them. "Welcome to Castle Clorr," he said. He bowed. "May I help you, masters?"

"I'm Sir Merric of Hollyrose and this is my companion, Sir Nealan of Queenscove. Is your lord around?" Merric asked.

"If my lords would follow me, I'll take you to the lounge and fetch my lord the Earl Dorwin of Clorr's Hill," the servant led them into the lounge, seated them, bowed, and scurried off to fetch the Earl Dorwin.

A scullery maid scuttled in, carrying a tray of sweets, and set them down on the low table near Merric's and Neal's seats. On the floor lie an imported rug from Carthak, one of a tiger. Along the wall hung some ornately woven tapestries, some of which even had glazed wooden plaques underneath describing who was shown.

Neal had just reached for a tart on the tray when the Earl Dorwin entered the room. Neal and Merric rose and bowed.

"Earl Dorwin," Merric said, nodding.

"Earl." Neal nodded as well. "I'm Sir Nealan of Queenscove and this is my companion, Sir Merric of Hollyrose."

"Sir Nealan," Earl Dorwin nodded, "Sir Merric."

"Earl," Neal said, "I understand you have one Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan here with you?"

The Earl nodded. "However, she and her companions are packing to leave. Did you need to speak with her? I can have a servant fetch her."

"Please do!" Neal said, not bothering to mask his eagerness.

"Jemaes," the Earl called. A servant that looked identical to all the others dressed in Clorr's Hill attire ran in. "Jemaes, fetch the Lady Knight."

"Tell her that Neal's here," Neal added.

Jemaes nodded, "As m'lord wishes." He ran out of the lounge.

Neal could hardly contain his excitement. He fidgeted with everything he got his hands on, and suddenly remembered Cane. His eyes went wide and he smacked his forehead.

"Neal?" Merric gave him a strange look.

"Cane," Neal answered. "She's still out there, looking for Kel."

Merric laughed. "Your sweetheart will just have to wait. She's smart."

"Will she know where to look though? And Mace is still on my saddle. I hope the hostlers don't let him loose." Neal bounced his legs up and down until he could no longer sit in one spot. Then he began to pace.

Jemaes came running back in. "M'lord," he bowed. "Terribly sorry, but the Lady Knight has left. She can't have gone far, if my lords wish to hurry and catch up to them."

Merric and Neal looked to each other and nodded in unison. "Thank you for your hospitality, Earl Dorwin," Merric said as they hurried out of the castle. They ran down to the stables. "Wonder what they've done with Kel."

"I don't know. I really don't care. I just know that when I see them, they'll be walking about for days with flat faces. Healer or no, these men that have captured her deserve a thrashing like they never had before," Neal grunted. He mounted Seiryn, who hadn't been striped of her tack, and took off towards the gate, Merric close behind.

Mace yowled inside his bag, and suddenly Cane pulled up beside Neal, digging her sparrow claws into his shoulder. He ignored it, following a set of tracks made by three horses. Judging by the size of the hoofprints he saw, he guessed that Kel rode Hoshi, or one of the two people with her did.

Merric galloped ahead of Neal, not having to worry about Cane tumbling off of his shoulder or Mace suffering a concussion.

Merric heard the hooves of three horses in front of him. The kidnappers and Kel were running: they must have spotted Merric's mount and taken off. In a few moments, he could see the rears of the horses, and was amazed to find Cane had flown ahead and was trying to distract the one leading Kel and the other kidnapper.

Neal burst through Kel's kidnapper and her. For a brief moment their eyes met, and something sparked in Neal's chest.

"_Neal_!"

The one Neal had leaped between grabbed Hoshi's reins and galloped on ahead, disappearing into the trees with a camouflage spell Neal couldn't penetrate. The kidnapper Cane had distracted finally recovered after smacking her, and took off after the others.

Neal caught Cane as she fell out of the air, cradling the small bird in his hands. "Cane..."

Her little body expanded and retracted, still breathing. "She's only stunned," Merric told him.

"I know," Neal answered, holding Seiryn's reins in one hand. "Come on, we have to go after them!"

"Neal, I can't see them. I don't even hear them," Merric replied. "Maybe you can but you only have one hand."

"But..." Neal said helplessly. "Come on...at least...let's just..."

Merric rubbed his temples, sighing. "Okay. Okay. We're in Tusaine territory by now, for certain. Maybe the hooves left prints and we can follow those."

Neal clucked to Seiryn, who trotted over to where the kidnappers had turned into the trees. All Neal found was underbrush, and none of it snapped. It was as if the kidnappers had just vanished.

Merric frowned suddenly and looked at Neal. "Hey, Neal. Did you see the two who had kidnapped her?"

"Yes," Neal said irritably, following the hoof prints on the dirt all the way back to where they disappeared several times, as if following them would make them appear again.

"Did they look familiar to you?" Merric asked.

Cane woke then and glided to Neal's shoulder, where she promptly fell asleep. "I don't know. I didn't see them properly."

"All you focused on was Kel," Merric muttered. Neal didn't hear him. "They looked rather familiar to me. Almost like I had seen them before, somewhere else, a long time ago."

"Maybe they were from Hollyrose," Neal told him absently. "Damnation, Kel! Where have you gone?!"

"Maybe," Merric murmured. He frowned again. "I haven't seen them for a very long time, years. But not so far back that I was still living in Hollyrose."

"Yes, well, I don't know what to tell you," Neal growled and dismounted, uncovering the earth beneath the underbrush. It didn't have a hoof print here nor there, Neal discovered as he stepped farther and farther in between the trees.

"Neal, come back," Merric called. "If we go that way we won't know where they went."

"We don't know where they went as it is, Merric!" Neal yelled in frustration. He kept seeing Kel's haunted, broken eyes in his mind. A cut about two inches wide above her left eye still bled, a fresh wound. The mere thought of someone harming his Kel made his blood boil. "Kel," he whispered, clenching his fist as he once again brushed the twigs and leaves aside. "Kel...where did they take you?"

Neal, Merric, Cane, Mace, Seiryn, and Merric's mount all trotted into Tusaine carefully. At the first wayhouse they found, they stopped for the night, carefully guarding their things. They didn't trust the people of Tusaine, having heard stories, and always slept with their belongings in their room.

Mace, much to Neal's relief, preferred to stay with Merric, Cane, and Neal. He would jump out of the open window occasionally but would always return. He especially seemed to like Neal's bed, perhaps because he was so keen with animals from spending so much time with Kel.

Kel. Every time Neal thought about her, the look on her face came back to him, and his chest tightened. He hardly slept, tossing and turning, Mace just moving when Neal's legs moved.

At one point in the night, Merric stood up from his bed and shook Neal. "Stop moving, you dolt! I can't sleep with you moving like that!"

Neal just looked at Merric with an innocent expression. "I'm sorry, Merric. I didn't mean to."

"Of course you didn't," Merric grumbled, lying back down in his bed. "I don't know why I agreed to this cockeyed rescue mission anyway. I miss Corus. I miss my nice bed with my pillows and good food."

"You agreed because you care about Kel. You agreed because you never want to see the look in her eyes that I saw ever again," Neal answered.

"It was rhetorical, Queenscove," Merric said.

"Sounded like a question aimed at me," Neal replied and shrugged.

"Inner monologue, Neal. Something you don't have." Merric stuffed his pillow over his head. "I don't want to have to get up and smack you for moving around."

"Sorry, Mother," Neal replied sarcastically.

"Go to sleep, Neal," Merric growled.

Neal was quiet after that. He still tossed and turned, but he took care to do it quietly. Merric snored lightly. Neal couldn't sleep with the snoring either way, used to the peace and quiet he had in his quarters at Corus.

An hour before dawn, Neal quickly but quietly got dressed. Mace watched him tie his boots and purred. Cane perched on the shoulder opposite of Mace's post and watched him tie his boots as well. "You two want to come for a walk with me?" he whispered. Cane rubbed her head against his ear lobe and Mace just continued to purr. "All right." Neal grabbed his sword from the floor and buckled it around his waist. "Let's head out, troops."

He left the room, Mace trailing behind him with Cane still perched on his shoulder. Neal had taken the piece of paper with the runes on it out of his bag and tucked it into his pocket as he climbed down the dimly lit wooden staircase. The flames from the torches on the wall flickered elongated shadows on the wall, dancing to a soundless tune. A banked fire in a hearth centered on the far wall from the door snapped every now and then, making Neal jump. He loosened his sword in its hilt, just in case, and took the back way out of the wayhouse. He had to take care not to let door slam when the wind whipped up.

He looked up at the gray sky, beginning to turn pink at the edge of the horizon, and sat on the grass, not particularly caring that his breeches became wet in the process. He dug the paper out of his pocket and studied the runes.

Neal frowned. He had seen these runes somewhere else. Certainly not during class. Perhaps at the university? No, Neal wouldn't particularly remember them. Not something so obscure. Maybe he had seen it in his time as a squire with Lady Alanna.

--"...something called the 'Abscador Scroll'..."--

The Abscador Scroll. Whoever had it now, had deciphered it and knew what the runes in it meant. That's where he had seen it, he had seen a sample of some of the runes in a book when he studied with Alanna.

--"The Abscador Scroll, Neal? Goodness. That's a little high up for your ability. Healers don't need to dabble in that kind of power. The Abscador Scroll was meant for people like Numair Salmalin. Besides, no one's ever translated it. I doubt anyone ever will."--

The Lioness had been wrong. Someone had translated it...but who?

Kel's kidnappers. That's who.

"Well then," Neal said chipperly. "That's just another reason for me to beat their faces in with my fist."


	4. Ten Gold Nobles

**Ten Gold Nobles**

Neal emptied his coin purse out on his hand as Merric started a fire. He stared at the coins that added up to only one silver noble and groaned. "Merric," he looked at the man. He was struggling with a piece of damp wood on damp earth. Neal murmured the campfire spell everyone with Gift could cast and the fire sprang to life. Merric toppled over in his surprise. "Merric," Neal said again.

"What?" he answered irritably, examining his hands for burn marks.

"I didn't burn you," Neal told him. He emptied his hand of the coins into Merric's hand. "How much money do you have left?"

Merric whistled lowly. "We need money. I have two copper nobles. I didn't say anything because I assumed you still had money. We have two copper nobles and a silver noble...this won't even buy us more dried fruit or meat."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Don't exaggerate. We can eat maybe one or two more meals between the two of us on that before we go flat out broke."

Two weeks had passed since Neal and Merric last saw Kel and her two kidnappers. They were on their way to Pirate's Swoop from the shore of the Great Inland Sea. They hadn't received any messages from Roald since the one pointing them in the direction of Carthak. In all reality, if the kidnappers were heading to Carthak, they would have gotten there by now. However, Merric and Neal couldn't afford anything but free passage on a ship at that point.

"Well," Neal stroked the fur on Mace's head, the black and white speckled cat purring loudly. "We'll just have to raise the money, Merric."

"Doing _what_?" Merric wanted to know. Cane flittered over to his shoulder and nestled herself there as he prepared their supper.

"Someone's bound to have to go somewhere. A noble or something. We'll charge a gold noble for every day we have to ride," Neal said.

"That's the most cockeyed idea I've heard come out of your mouth yet, Neal," Merric informed him. He set the stew to cook over the fire. "And you ought to cook supper while we're on the road like this once in a while."

"But you cook so well, Merric," Neal told him. "Besides, as a healer I tend to put healthy things in a stew. I pay for our meals when we stay at the wayhouses and inns anyway. I think it's a fair trade off."

"We don't have any money, Neal," Merric rubbed his temples. He saw a spark of emerald out of the corner of his eye and the pressure in his skull immediately lessened. "Since we don't have any money, you have to cook supper or breakfast every now and then."

"I have an idea," Neal said as soon as Merric stopped talking.

"Another one?" Merric groaned. "As a side note, I feel extremely dirty. There _must_ be a river or stream or pond around here somewhere..."

"I'll make breakfast and you can make supper. Fair enough, right?" Neal suggested.

"Right," Merric agreed skeptically. He stirred the stew and tested it with his finger. "Stew's up."

Neal handed Merric his plate and waited to fill his own plate up. He laid a smaller plate on the ground next to Mace, who promptly woke up and began to eat. Rather than eating, Neal simply pushed the pieces of rabbit meat around in its thick broth.

Merric had gotten halfway through his meal by the time he noticed Neal's unnatural quietness and shook his head. He knew Neal sorely missed Kel, more than Yuki. He never spoke of Yuki, but every conversation they had that didn't concern the journey's supplies revolved around Kel. He took another spoonful of the stew and watched Neal push things around on his plate. "Neal?"

That shook Neal from his stupor. "Hm?"

"Aren't you hungry?" Merric asked skeptically.

"Not particularly, to tell the truth," Neal sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't eat, can't sleep, can't function properly at all..."

Merric rolled his eyes. "Eat up. You need your strength, and quite frankly we don't have the money to spare to cover your current bout of lovers' blues."

"I'm not in love with Kel!" Neal snapped.

Merric leaned back, his eyebrows raised. "I didn't say a word about Kel. Maybe you need to get your ears examined, Neal."

"You didn't say it but I know you were thinking it," Neal grumbled. He angrily shoved a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed, trying to calm his temper. "You didn't say it this time but back at the inn before Clorr's Hill you said it. When I called you sweet on the lady you accused me of being sweet on Kel."

"But you are," Merric murmured, watching Neal eat the rest of his meal in a hurry.

"There's a fief along the coast here somewhere. We can hit the ports and offer our escort services to the first noble who requests it," Neal continued, changing the subject. "Which means we're due south now."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to yet another of your skewed plans," Merric told his companion. "Our price is one gold noble per day's ride?"

"Exactly," Neal nodded, having finished his meal. He picked up Mace's plate, his plate, and Merric's plate. "Get some cherries out of my bags for Cane, will you?"

"Surely," Merric grabbed the bag as Neal hurried off to the stream not too far off. He dug through the bag, grabbing the bag of dried cherries, not noticing he also grabbed another sheet of paper. He dug out two cherries from the bag, knowing that it was probably too much for the small creature, and found the paper falling to the ground.

Merric raised an eyebrow and picked up the paper. The runes from the sword Sacord had made the mage stared back at him. Merric had no idea whatsoever what they meant, or where they were from, until his eye caught the writing in the corner: Abscador Scroll Runes.

It looked as if Neal had tried to translate the runes into phonetics and had succeeded only slightly. He had had no other reference, to Merric's knowledge, until he dropped Neal's bag on his foot after putting the cherries away. He found that a book on magic runes had been ribbon-marked for the page with the runes from a portion of the Abscador Scroll.

"What are you doing?" Neal asked, eyes narrowed. "I asked you to get my sparrow her cherries, not to look through my personal project."

Merric looked guiltily up at Neal, who had already put the dishes back where they came from. "Sorry," he said quietly. "But the paper...it had just fallen out..."

Neal snatched the book and the paper away from Merric. He had come so close to translating the runes, he didn't want anything to get in his way. Then Neal realized he overreacted. "...No, I'm the one who should apologize, Merric. I know you would never riffle through my bags just for the hell of it."

"What are you doing with the Abscador Scroll? Neal, do you know where it is?" Merric inquired.

Neal shook his head. "I'm trying to translate these runes. One of Kel's kidnappers had this inscribed on a sword in Clorr's Hill. I figured that even if it's only the kidnapper's name, at least we can report it to the Lord Provost in Corus, Tyra, and the other capitals. Or perhaps it's a spell. It would explain why and how they all disappeared in the forest in Tusaine."

"It would," Merric agreed. "Do you know who has the Scroll?"

"Think, Merric," Neal told him.

"Oh," Merric sighed. "Kel's kidnappers."

"I wonder where she is," he murmured worriedly. Lines creased on his handsome face.

They cleaned up after that, storing things in their proper places, and taking their shifts guarding the camp. Neal had the sunrise watch, studying the pale golden rays illuminating the trees around them, and remembering the time he last spoke with Kel.

--"Neal!" Kel cried, running up to him and hugging him. "Hey! Good to see you again."

Neal grinned and hugged her back. "Good to see you too. How goes it?"

"Boring," Kel answered. She never failed to speak her mind around him. "But at least I have the chance to help people. How about here? How have things gone since I left?"

"Owen came for a visit a little while ago. He'll take the Ordeal soon...will you be there to watch?" Neal had asked, taking her hands in his as he always did when he discussed important things with her.

"Of course," Kel smiled. Neal felt his heart thump a time or two but dismissed as excitement. "I wouldn't miss Owen's Ordeal for anything."

"Good," Neal hugged her.--

He had just seen her four months ago. Wyldon had dimissed them all just a couple months beforehand, placing them back in the disposal of King Jonathan and Queen Thayet. Owen's Ordeal, Neal thought, would be in just a couple of months. It was summer now, August, the high point of the season. That meant Owen's Ordeal would be in four months.

Merric stirred and woke, Mace scrambling away once the light blanket moved. Neal looked at him and stoked the fire back to life, preparing breakfast for them out of last night's leftovers. Neal didn't go for much in the way of cooking, however, he could get them off to a wonderful start with his healer's materials.

Merric mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over, smashing his nose into the log he had used as a pillow. "Ow," he commented. "This feels rather painful."

"Then move, you dolt," Neal told him, taking a page out of Merric's book in the way of insults.

"I thought you said they stopped using the word 'dolt' when my father was a squire?" Merric inquired.

"Maybe I lied," Neal shrugged. "You forget I'm older than you are."

"Not as old as my father," Merric answered. He rose and stretched, gingerly touching his nose. He peered at Neal's version of breakfast and grimaced. "Leftovers, Neal?"

"You said so last night: we're low on funds," Neal shrugged. "We'll be making our way to ports today, won't we?"

"Yes, yes, we are," Merric sat upon the log he had used for his. "This is another of your harebrained schemes isn't it, Queenscove?"

"Only if you think it's harebrained, Hollyrose," Neal replied. "Owen and Kel would go for it."

"Well they're both mad," Merric scoffed. "Just as you are."

"Aw, Merric," Neal said as he divied up the rest of the leftovers among them. "If I didn't know better I'd say you didn't want to come with me on this trip."

"Well, someone ought to have come along with you on this trip to keep you from getting into too much trouble. Mithros knows Kel's done it often enough," Merric explained as he began to eat. "Who better to accompany the former healer of New Hope in the quest to find Our Fearless Leader than me, the former sergeant-at-arms of New Hope?"

Neal laughed. "Good point," he grinned. He quickly finished off the meal and stacked his dishes next to the fire. "I do the dishes at supper, you should do the dishes at breakfast."

"Fair enough," Merric yawned. He gave his uneaten portions to Mace and quickly washed the dishes.

"I think we should go now if we want to get to a port at a reasonable time," Neal said.

"I think so too," Merric agreed.

***

Port Seadawn bustled noisily, as all ports do, and Neal, Merric, and their cargo struggled to push through the streets.

"This traffic is worse than Corus," Merric griped.

"You just never liked crowds, Hollyrose!" Neal replied, laughing. Merric grumbled and kept pace with his companion. "Look, up there! They've probably just docked...look at the people coming off the ship!"

Neal rushed over and looked through the crowds. "Escorts! Escorts for nobles in need! Only one gold noble a day!"

Merric just mounted his horse and took Neal's own Seiryn by the reins. He shook his head as Neal waved his arms like a madman and yelled that they were escorts with the cheap price of one gold noble a day. However, Merric simply didn't believe his eyes when a noble actually approached them.

"Escorts for a gold noble, you say? Who are you?" she asked. She looked rich and noble, finely dressed with an accent the upper crust of nobility sometimes attained.

"I'm Sir Neal of Queenscove and this is Sir Merric of Hollyrose. We're both knights of His Majesty, King Jonathan," Neal grinned. "You need an escort?"

"Yes," she tipped her nose up in the air, her golden blond curls tumbling over her silk dress. "I need escorts to Fief Magistra in Tortall."

"Merric, the map please," Neal requested, holding his hand out to his friend. While he waited for Merric to dig it out of the saddlebags, he asked her what her name was.

"Duchess Jeraldine of Fief Magistra," she replied curtly. "My father expects me in ten days at the most."

Neal took the map from Merric's hands and traced the trail from Port Seadawn to Fief Magistra. "Hm. Ten days is pushing it, Your Grace."

"Make it work," she huffed. "And where is your carriage?"

"Er, Merric?" Neal looked to Merric.

"I'm off to get one," he sighed and took off in search of a carriage.

"A heh," Neal grinned embarrassedly.

Duchess Jeraldine rolled her eyes and tugged at her small dog's leash. Unfortunately, the small fluffball caught sight of Mace the same time the cat caught sight of the dog. The ball of curly white fur began to growl and bark as Mace growled and hissed.

"Hey!" Neal grabbed Mace and set the yowling cat into the sack hanging off of his saddle horn. He looked apologetically to Duchess Jeraldine and just hoped she would stay escorted by them.

***

Merric had somehow gotten ahold of a carriage, though he wouldn't say exactly how, which made Neal wonder if his usually law-upholding friend had bent some rules to get it. He would ask Merric later, when they didn't have Duchess Jeraldine to transport to Fief Magistra.

"I need to relieve myself," Jeraldine told Neal, who rode next to the carriage on Seiryn. Merric drove the coach.

"Merric," Neal called. "Stop the carriage, Jeraldine needs to 'relieve' herself."

Jeraldine gasped. "Not out in the woods, you fool! Great Mother Goddess, do you _know_ how _dirty_ I would get if I were to--to--"

"Sorry," he answered. "There should be a wayhouse up ahead, we can probably use their privy."

"They had better," she threatened. "If they don't, it will be _your_ head!"

Neal cringed. "Yes, Your Grace."

"How far ahead is this wayhouse?!" Jeraldine thrust her head out of the window, scowling disparagingly at everything. "I don't see it!"

Neal's eye twitched in annoyance. Her voice had begun to grate his nerves now. "Do you see the smoke rising down the road?"

Jeraldine huffed impatiently. "No."

"Look harder, Your Grace, it's there," Neal insisted. Finally, Jeraldine conceded that she did, indeed, see the smoke rising from the wayhouse down the road. "There lies your privy. If you can hold it for just a little while longer..."

"My father is paying you good money to take me to Fief Magistra! You had _better_ get me there and get me there fast!" she pulled back into the carriage, drawing the curtains over the windows.

Neal nudged Seiryn forward, muttering to Merric, "Can you believe this girl? How did I let you talk me into this?"

Merric looked at him, astounded by Neal's twisted outlook on the whole sordid situtation. "_I_ talked _you_ into this ludicrous conspiracy? Mithros, Neal--do you remember the planning of this that way?"

Neal didn't bother to listen to his companion though. "Let's get the horse working double-time, eh, Merric? I want those gold nobles."

The horse drawing the carriage whinnied in protest as Merric urged him faster. He grumbled to himself as Neal turned Seiryn back to his position by Jeraldine's window, should the duke's daughter need anything.

They had hardly covered half of the distance to the wayhouse when Jeraldine screeched that she couldn't hold it any longer. "Get me to the wayhouse--NOW!"

Neal, thinking quickly, opened the carriage door and dismounted. "If you'll come with me, Your Grace, I can get you to the wayhouse faster than the carriage can."

"Get me there NOW, you insolent, foolish little man!" she demanded.

Neal helped the dissenting Jeraldine into Seiryn's saddle, following suit as she once more began complaining. "Hold onto my waist, Your Grace."

She had just begun to protest when Neal grabbed her wrists and flexed her hands together, holding them around his waist as he nudged Seiryn into a canter. He released her hands, feeling them tighten around his waist of their own accord, and hurried them to the wayhouse, Merric trailing behind.

When they reached the wayhouse, Jeraldine tried to dismount by herself and nearly fell off of the mare before Neal stopped her. He alighted from Seiryn and removed Jeraldine as soon as his feet hit the ground. He led her inside the wayhouse, requested use of the privy for Her Grace Lady Jeraldine, and was promptly shown the way.

Neal stood ten feet from the privy as Jeraldine relieved herself, watching Merric and the carriage come to a rest in front of the inn minutes after they had arrived. Jeraldine came puffing out of the privy and stormed over to Neal, a spark of fury in her eyes. His own eyes went wide, not recalling what he did to upset the woman and desperately racking his mind for the incident. "Y-Your Grace?" he stammered.

"Carriage. Now. Next wayhouse we see, we sleep. Understand?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

***

Merric and Neal shared a room next to Jeraldine, who had demanded her own room.

"This was a terrible idea," Merric grumbled to Neal as he changed into his night clothes. "We're _knights_ for the love of Mithros, Neal! We don't have to *cart* foolish, intolerable duke's daughters around!"

"But we need money," Neal argued. Cane chirped her agreement, having hid in the saddlebags for most of the trip due to Jeraldine's reprimanding.

Mace curled up on Merric's bed, purring as the bed's inhabitant crawled inside. "I know we need the money. But why couldn't we have just slayed a monster for some town in need and reaped the benefits? I _hate_ dealing with nobility like this!"

"Well buck up, Merric. This is it." Neal turned his back to Merric as he climbed in bed. "Besides. Magistra isn't that far away."

"Do you even know where we are?"

"Vaguely."

Merric sighed and extinguished the candle sitting on the bedside table.

***

After two more days of Jeraldine's whining, Merric felt about ready to abandon Neal and all of his cockeyed ideas. However, he didn't have to search for his oppurtunity. They passed a gentleman on the road who stopped them to ask directions. In exchange for their directions, he gave them another map, saying it led to a valuable treasure. After that, they never saw him again. Merric had thought the man to be a little more than slightly mad, but had accepted the map, much preferring coins over it, but had accepted it nonetheless.

When Neal offered to switch Merric's horse for Seiryn and to drive the carriage, Merric welcomed the change. Although he thought he may have to put up with more of Jeraldine's whining closer to her window, he could at least have a change of pace from the bumpier ride of the carriage. After he and Neal made the switch, he pulled out the map from his saddle bag and noticed in the key the same runes from the piece of paper he had found in Neal's bags.

"The Abscador Scroll...incredible," he murmured. Somewhere near Trebond sat the Scroll's location. Merric grinned, the perfect excuse to distance himself from the insolent woman they escorted to Magistra. He nudged his mount up even with Neal and informed him, "This map says where the Abscador Scroll lies, Neal. I've been ordered by Prince Roald to retrieve the Abscador Scroll, so I'll have to break away as soon as we reach different paths."

Neal stared at Merric in bewilderment. "I beg your pardon, Merric?"

"Tomorrow I'll have to leave to get the Abscador Scroll," he reiterated. "I'm sorry Neal, but orders are orders, especially from Prince Roald."

Neal shook his head disbelievingly. "If you say so, Merric. But I thought you wanted to rescue Kel too?"

"I do, Neal, I really do--it's just..." he glanced behind him warily and said softly as he could, "I can't stand another day with that woman, and I figure that if I get the Abscador Scroll while you take her to Magistra we could meet back up at the same place and our funds will not only replenish themselves but we'll have one of our two objectives out of the way."

Neal considered Merric's logic. "All right. Where is the Abscador Scroll?"

"Up north by Trebond," he answered. "Magistra's about the same length away, fortunately."

"I see," Neal nodded. "Well, I guess we had better make the rest of today count then, eh Merric?"

"I suppose," Merric yawned. It was only three in the afternoon but Merric felt exhausted. Secretly, he felt he had done more work than Neal on this entire trip, but didn't say anything. He didn't have to, because Jeraldine yelled for one of them to come to her window. She had to use the privy again, and she didn't want to sit in the carriage anymore. "We can stop for a little rest at the inn when we get there," Merric answered her pleas. "I promise."

Jeraldine actually quieted, blushing at Merric's intense gaze. She nodded and said, "As you say, Sir Merric."

Neal didn't believe his ears as much as Merric didn't. A sense of pride swelled in Merric's chest at having tamed the beast momentarily, and he didn't feel so jaded anymore.

When they stopped at the inn, Jeraldine used the privy and then began to converse with Merric while Neal walked over to talk with some older knights on the other side of the room. "I know I've been a handful, Sir Merric," she said quietly. "I apologize."

Caught off-guard, Merric just nodded dumbly and said, "You haven't caused too much trouble."

"I heard you talking to Sir Neal earlier this afternoon," Jeraldine continued, heedless of Merric's response. "I hear you talk about how much you dislike me every night, and I know you don't particularly like me...but you see, Sir Merric, I have been taught never to just keep my mouth shut and accept things for face value. I have been taught to always try and obtain whatever I need and to never settle for second-best. So I apologize for causing you so much pain and so much annoyance. I try not to irritate you. You just seem to have more of a temper than Sir Neal."

Before Merric could stop himself, he replied, "No, Neal just doesn't understand half of the world. He's so blinded by his desire to find Kel that--" he suddenly realized what he said. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I meant no disrespect--"

Jeraldine waved it off, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "No reason to apologize, Sir Merric. I have caused trouble, not you."

"Right," he nodded. "If you insist on saying that. Apology accepted, by the way."

"If you and Sir Neal wish to leave, I will go too. I miss my father, truth be told," Jeraldine admitted.

Merric nodded. "Your Grace--"

"Lady Jeraldine will do, Sir Merric," she corrected. "If it wouldn't shock everyone I would have you simply call me 'Jeraldine.'"

"Lady Jeraldine," he agreed. "I have to leave tomorrow. I won't come back for the rest of your journey to Magistra. Prince Roald has comandeered me for another purpose."

"I understand," Jeraldine said quietly, her voice betraying her disappointment in losing Merric from their journey.

"Neal!" Merric called.

"Present," Neal called back, trotting over after bidding the older knights a quick farewell.

"Let's go. Lady Jeraldine wishes to leave," Merric gave his companion and shove on the back and watched him stumble towards the door.

"Pushy pushy," Neal muttered, leading the way out to the carriage. Merric held the door open for Jeraldine on both accounts, attaining a new respect for the Duke of Magistra's daughter, only three years younger than him. "Everyone ready?"

"Yes," Merric and Jeraldine answered at the same time.

"Let's roll."

***

That evening, Merric stood in the back of the wayhouse they stayed at, sipping at a cup of brandy in his hand as he looked up to the stars and moon, the map leading him to the Abscador Scroll rolled up in his free hand that balanced on his hip.

"Sir Merric?" said a quiet voice.

He looked over his should and offered Jeraldine a small smile. "It's late, Lady. You should be sleeping."

She returned the smile sadly and shook her head. "I find myself unable to sleep."

"Something on your mind?" Merric asked her, taking a gulp of his brandy.

"Yes, actually," she confessed, joining him in his upward gaze, standing next to him, a whole head shorter.

"Want to talk about it?" he inquired, setting his cup on the ground and looking down at her.

"I don't want you to leave, Merric," she told him quietly, dropping his title.

Startled, he raised an eyebrow. "Why not, Lady?"

She finally dropped her gaze from the night sky and looked up at him, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Because I'm inexplicably drawn to you. I don't understand it much myself...that's part of why I'm so rude to you most of the time. I didn't want you to come to that revelation. But...now you're leaving...and...Merric, please don't go!" she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. Muffled by tears, she repeated her plea, "Please don't go."

Merric felt totally stunned. He had no idea how to react to this. _Think, Merric!_ he yelled at himself. _What should you do? You need to do something. Oh, hells. She's looking at you with those wide, save-me eyes. Mithros. Goddess...what are you doing?!_

Instead of saying something comforting, or gently telling Jeraldine that he didn't feel the same way, Merric kissed her.

Standing there in the moonlight, Jeraldine had looked beautiful and innocent. She had pinned back her golden curls so they tumbled, invitingly soft, over her shoulders and back, the stars and firelight illuminating her large eyes. He still didn't understand what had overcome him, only knowing that when his lips had met hers, he felt a spark of something. He had no idea what the spark was, he had never felt it before, but he felt desperate to hold onto it.

Somehow, Merric felt he had just signed his soul to the devil.

When he pulled away, both of them struggled to catch their breath. He found that he had wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and she had griped his shirt tightly. Jeraldine's lips had swelled from the intense pressure and she stared at him, surprised but not repulsed. She searched his eyes for something.

Merric had shocked himself by acting so rashly and hoped he hadn't done something horrible. For once though, he found himself not caring whether or not he had done the right thing. He smiled down at her, and she returned the smile, meeting his lips for a gentler kiss this time.

***

Neal woke in the morning to find Cane and Mace both on his bed and Merric's empty, as if he had never slept in it.

"Merric?" he asked groggily, rubbing his bleary eyes. "Cane, Mace--where's Merric?"

Cane cheeped at him in confusion and exasperation while Mace just purred.

"You're no help," he grumbled, rising to his feet and cleaning off his face and hands. He ran his wet hands through his hair and quickly dressed himself. He calmly walked next door and rapped on the door, finding it opened by a naked Jeraldine covered only by a blanket. "Er...Your Grace...we seem to have lost Mer..." he stopped his sentence as he saw Merric's mussed head peer out from under the blankets on the bed. "...Right...I'll...go downstairs...and eat breakfast...if you don't...you don't mind."

Jeraldine shut the door wordlessly, leaving a stunned Neal to his thoughts.

***

Neal ate quickly and traipsed back up to his room. He quickly packed up his things, wondering when Merric would pull himself from the black widow grasp of Jeraldine of Magistra. He knew that Merric would have to move quickly if he didn't want to lose the Abscador Scroll, and a thought occured to him: maybe having lied with Jeraldine would make his friend stay for the rest of the journey?

_Hmph_, Neal thought defensively. *_Sold himself out to a woman. The kingdom in exchange for a woman's embrace. Bah. He should search for Kel with me! Mithros, why can't he love Kel like I do?_ That thought made Neal stand up straight. "Like I do?" he whispered to himself. "What the hell?"

The door to their room opened and a sleepy, but giddy, Merric stepped through. "Good morning, Neal!"

"Good morning indeed," he murmured, slowly stooping down to cinch closed his saddlebag. He realized Merric had waltzed back in and had actually started whistling in merriment and narrowed his eyes, looking much like a distempered horse. "Gee, did you have a nice sleep?"

"Sleep? Slept like a baby," Merric answered, washing his face off in their basin. "How about you?"

Neal rolled his eyes and shoved Merric's saddlebag at him. "If you don't leave now you won't make it to the wayhouse by sundown."

"I think I'll wait until you a Jeri leave." He took the saddlebag for Neal and set it on the bed. He scratched Mace on the head and said hello to Cane.

"Whatever you say," Neal grabbed his saddlebags, patted his leg to signal Mace and Cane to come to him, and left the room with the two animals.

Merric just raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

***

Neal witnessed the tender farewell between Merric and Jeraldine as he separated from them for the road to Trebond. As he left, Jeraldine sniffed tearfully and turned away from the window. Neal, in his dark cloud of anger and longing for his Kel, didn't notice Kel's two kidnappers ride by until Kel shouted his name.

"_Neal_!"

Neal's head snapped up. "_Kel_!" he yelled as he launched himself from the seat of the carriage onto Seiryn's back, unhooking the carriage from his mare and riding her bareback after them. Jeraldine, frightened, hid under the seat of the carriage as he took off.

He closed in on the kidnappers, who had dismissed Kel's outburst as temporary madness. Neal drew his sword from its sheath and urged Seiryn faster.

He ran one of the kidnappers through.

The man fell from his horse.

"Neal!" Kel shouted again. "Neal, behind you!"

Neal whirled and cut off the second kidnapper's hand as he tried to bring it down on Neal's head.

In his confusion and pain, the last kidnapper took off on his horse without taking Kel. She looked at Neal gratefully and attempted to dismount but fell off, yelping as she hit the ground.

"Kel!" Neal scrambled from his horse and knelt next to her, gently helping her to her feet. "Kel..." he ripped his dagger from its hilt and cut the bindings from her hands and the gag around her neck. "Goddess, Kel...I thought I would never find you..."

Kel rubbed her wrists gingerly, smiling at him lacklusterly. "Thank you. You shouldn't have been so reckless though--honestly, Neal! Coming out here alone! You know better than that!"

"I...I wasn't alone for the majority of the trip, Kel," Neal protested, helping her to her feet. "In fact, Merric was with me until about ten minutes ago."

Kel almost collapsed the moment he took his arm away from her. In less than a second his arm was around her again, and his hand at her forehead, an emerald green light filtering into her and supplying her strength. "Mithros," he murmured. "Didn't they feed you?"

"No," Kel sighed.

"Well, come on. I'll take you back to the carriage."

"Carriage?"

"Long story. You can sit up front with me and I'll explain."

"All right."

And she fainted in his arms, despite the strength he had been filtering into her.


	5. Parting Ways

**Author's notes:** I would like to point out two very interesting things that keep popping up in my reviews. I guess I should put up a little FAQ on this one:  
_  
Q: Is this a K/N?_  
A: Yes.

_Q: Where's Yuki?_  
A: In Corus, for the time being.

(Please refer to "Chapter One: MIA" for further details discussing these two questions.)

Also, in answer to Kenta Divina's statement about how Neal could have used Cane to track the mages, Neal didn't know who to look for. All of chapter two (Chasing Shadows) was about how Neal couldn't make head nor tail of any of the leads he got, and he still never got a good look at the kidnappers, even in chapter three (For the Sake of Kel) when he almost caught them.

**Parting Ways**

Neal carried Kel awkwardly over to the carriage and rapped on the door. He received no answer. Frowning, he knocked louder, still given the silent treatment. "Your Grace?" Neal called. "Your Grace, it's me--Neal."

Jeraldine peered out of the window, the crown of golden curls and her wary eyes visible. Her dog, finally revealing itself for the first time since she joined Neal and Merric, yapped noisily. "Nyda, quiet!" Jeraldine hissed and looked at Neal, who raised an eyebrow at her. Grabbing the dog, she opened the door. She turned her nose up at the scruffy Kel and rolled her eyes. "Picking up strays now, Sir Neal?"

"Shut your mouth," Neal growled murderously. "You may do whatever you want to Merric, and say whatever you want to me, but don't you _dare_ insult Lady Knight Keladry like that _ever_ again."

Jeraldine dared not to argue the dangerous glint in Neal's eyes and simply moved out of the way as he laid Kel onto the seat opposite of her. "Who is this?"

"My best friend," he said quietly, but his mannerisms suggested more than a friendly love. The way he gently swept her hair from her eyes and caressed the side of her face led Jeraldine to believe that he either was in denial, or didn't want either Kel or Jeraldine to know about it.

Jeraldine had been about to offer to do something to help when Kel illuminated in green light. She could do nothing but gape as Kel came to and pushed Neal's hand away.

"Stop it," she said, gasping for a moment and then pulling herself into a sitting position using him. "Neal, you'll drain yourself dry trying to make me at my full strength."

"I just don't want you dying on me. I came out all this way, left Yuki a few days before our--"

"Oh Goddess! The _wedding_! Neal, you _left_ her?!" Kel weakly hit him on the arm.

"I didn't want to get married and not have you there, Kel," he said defensively. "You only get married once."

Jeraldine raised her eyebrows into her hair, releasing her struggling Nyda. Sir Neal, betrothed? The very idea seemed preposterous. "Nyda," Jeraldine said commandingly, watching the white puppy wag her tail at Kel and lick the female knight's hand. "Nyda, leave her alone."

"It's okay," Kel offered Jeraldine a smile and managed to lift the puppy onto the seat next to her, kicking Neal as she swung her feet down.

"Ow," Neal mouthed, rubbing his leg.

"Born as Keladry of Mindelan," Kel offered her hand to Jeraldine. "But they call me Kel."

Jeraldine nodded, rather than take Kel's hand. "Duchess Jeraldine of Magistra, and that puppy is Nyda."

"A pleasure, Your Grace," Kel murmured, rubbing her bleary eyes. "Neal, I need air."

Neal helped her from the carriage. "Can you lean against this while I go get Seiryn?"

"Yes," Kel conceded. "But I don't need to lean against anything."

Neal looked at her, aghast, but shook his head at her tenacity as he walked off to retrieve his mare. She stood, pawing at the ground, and whinnied when he grabbed her bridle. "Hey girl," he said. "Let's get going now, right?"

She whinnied in agreement as he led the mare back to the carriage, attaching her once more to the yoke. He found Kel standing stubbornly in place, without leaning against the carriage. "Kel," he tapped her.

She whirled on him. Kel blinked rapidly, hand raised to protect herself, had the voice belonged to someone else. "Neal."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand firmly, knowing fully well that she needed more healing than simply what her tried to give her.

Kel blinked stupidly at her hand, which glowed once more with emerald light, and felt the warmth of his healing spread throughout her body. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and leaned against him, basking in the magic. The back of her mind told her not to let Neal tire himself out healing her, but she couldn't help it. She felt comfortable and safe, two things she hadn't felt in more than two months. "Neal," she murmured.

Neal couldn't quite figure out how to react to this. He knew he would have to stop the flow of magic soon, he could feel his reserves draining quickly, but he didn't want to let her go. She felt so perfect in his arms, never as Yuki had.

_Yuki!_ his mind screamed at him.

He abruptly stopped his Gift and jerked away from her, mumbling something about a moral dilemma, how the gods hated him, and marriage. Kel frowned, confused. She felt better, at least. She walked around to the other side of the carriage and climbed up to the seat to perch next to Neal.

"Ready to go, your Grace?" he called over his shoulder.

"Yes, Sir Neal," she replied.

Neal urged Seiryn onward.

* * *

Neal missed Merric's pessimistic, reluctant comments. Somehow, he felt that being with Kel would have felt a whole lot easier if he had his other best friend with him. Neal chuckled to himself, the first noise he had made since he lost his wits earlier. Cane chirped next to him, perched happily on Kel's shoulder. Mace had decidedly gone with Merric, not wanting to deal with Nyda and Cane.

Merric had become his best friend over the trip. They balanced each other out, he mused.

"Neal?" Kel said quietly, her face Yamani blank.

"Yes'm?" he answered as quietly, his eyes clouding with confusion again.

"Did I do something to make you upset?" She didn't look at him, only leaned back against the railing.

"No," he replied stonily.

"You're acting funny," Kel commented.

"Don't I always?" he countered, risking a glance at her, an eyebrow raised.

"More than usual," she murmured and looked at him.

His eyebrow settled in line with the other one. His emotions felt too turbulent at the moment. The flare, the swelling in his chest that made his heart beat faster, that he usually felt when he thought of Yuki had disappeared somewhere over the course of the past few weeks. However, he felt it now. He felt it now, sitting so close to Kel that he could feel her breath on his face when they looked at each other. He felt himself drowning in her misgiving eyes, eyes as fathomless as the ocean.

_Dammit, Neal!_ he yelled at himself. _Stop it! She's your best friend! You can't be in--_

"No," he whispered, looking away from her quickly. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, he could feel his cheeks grow warm, blushing like a little girl.

Kel frowned. She didn't understand what was happening to Neal. He looked so tortured, and when she tried to find out what made him feel so wretched he wouldn't tell her. "No?"

Seiryn whinnied when Neal gripped her reins too hard. Automatically loosening his grip, he seemed not to hear Kel's question. He felt too pained, too perplexed. He felt smothered.

"No?" Kel repeated again.

_You can't even admit it to yourself,_ his heart yelled at his brain.

He snorted, oblivious to Kel for the moment.

_But you're in love with Yuki. Betrothed and all that,_ his brain argued.

"Fat chance now," he murmured.

"Neal?" Kel touched his shoulder.

He yelped. "Mithros, Kel! You could warn a fellow before you haul off and interrupt his thoughts like that."

"I've been trying to ask you a question for the past few minutes," she huffed, perturbed.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Nealan of Queenscove!" Kel cried in her no-nonsense voice. "Listen to me! I don't know _what_ is wrong with you, but you're worrying me! I love you, dammit! You're my _best friend_. Tell me what's wrong!"

After her outburst, so uncharacteristic of Kel, Neal sighed and uttered four words he thought he would never say to her: "I can't tell you."

* * *

After that, Kel had grown so frustrated with Neal that she climbed inside the carriage with Jeraldine. However, she found she couldn't stand Jeraldine's brooding anymore than she could Neal's and tried to take a nap. As soon as she had felt herself drift off, Jeraldine had started sniveling and weeping, which Kel couldn't stand. So she ended up sitting next to brooding Neal.

She tried once more to strike up conversation. "How did you wind up with Little Miss Weeps-a-lot?"

"Merric and I stopped in Port Seadawn on our way to Pirate's Swoop because we needed money," he answered. "Merric got us a carriage and we decided to escort a noble somewhere, charging one gold noble a day. She's been a pain in the rear end ever since."

"Where did Merric go?" Kel pressed, eager to keep the conversation going because it meant she didn't have to sit with the Brooding Buddies.

"Prince Roald ask our knight of Hollyrose to get some scroll if we came across it. We found this old man with a map to it and he set off to find the scroll just before I found you and your kidnappers," he explained.

"I see," Kel said as she nodded. She looked to the trees around them, then at Neal. "So why does her Grace seem to cry so much?"

"Oh last night she and Merric seemed to have...reconciled I suppose you could say," he said draftily, shrugging.

"Reconciled?" Kel didn't understand.

"Merric didn't sleep in his bed last night," Neal said suggestively. "And I don't think the future Missus of Hollyrose would find it very proper if you slept in my room tonight. You may have to share a room with her."

_Yes. Good idea. Out of sight, out of mind,_ his brain babbled.

"That's ridiculous," Kel rolled her eyes.

"Not really, considering that she hails from Magistra," Neal shrugged.

_"Out of sight, out of mind"? Have we forgotten that she dominates your thoughts twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?_ his heart said haughtily.

"What has that got to do with anything?" Kel wanted to know, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Daughter of the duke, from Magistra...a very proper lady, Kel," Neal concluded.

"But you just said that she slept with Merric last night," Kel argued. "And you failed to mention anything about them marrying each other."

"But she also made Merric and me stay in another room," Neal replied.

Kel sighed. She wanted to stay with her best friend, not some snitty, sniffling heir to a ducal fief. "Well, I don't care what 'Her Grace' wants. I'll be sleeping in your room tonight."

Neal just nodded, sinking back into his thoughts. He had come to the conclusion that when he took Kel back to Corus, he would have to break off his engagement with Yuki. He could feel the freedom at his fingertips, and until then, he would just have to keep his paws and his flirty words off of Kel. He only wished he could stall the constant, rapid racing of his heart when she sat near him.

Kel sighed. "Maybe we should stop soon. Seiryn looks tired."

"Hn," Neal agreed. "Grab the map out of my bag, if you would, m'dear."

She took the map from his saddlebag, pleased to hear his "m'dear." "Do you need to look for something?"

"The inns and wayhouses should have a little mark on the roads. Do you see the fork in the road in the upper fourth of the map?" he asked.

"Yes," Kel said as she found it.

"The one between Trebond and Magistra?" he pressed.

"Yes, Neal, I'm not an invalid," Kel told him.

"What's the closest wayhouse to that?" he inquired, slowing Seiryn to an easier pace.

"We've already passed that and two inns," Kel replied. "I remember. We're three miles from the next wayhouse, give or take a half-mile."

"Thank the gods."

* * *

When they reached the wayhouse, Neal took care of which rooms they would occupy while Kel and Jeraldine ordered food for themselves and their male companion. Kel's stomach growled loudly, demanding the food she could smell but not taste. Jeraldine simply refused to admit any hunger she may have felt, staring forlornly down at the table, picking at the folds of her dress. When Neal finally joined them, Kel patted the seat next to her, which he promptly took.

"What did you lovely ladies order for my supper?" Neal asked of them.

Kel smiled, glad to see him in a better mood. "Steak, some vegetables, a fruit salad, and some brandy."

Neal winced at the mention of vegetables. "Kel..."

"You spent a lot of energy on me today, not to mention you sat and baked in the sun all day, _and_ ran off my kidnappers," she argued. "You _will_ eat your vegetables if I have to ram them down your throat."

"Alas, anything for my lady," he surrendered.

Kel rolled her eyes. "I know you must feel better because you're trying to finesse me into doing something."

"You know you missed it," Neal joked, grinning widely. Jeraldine studied the two of them, curious. She could see the way Neal looked at Kel, the way his eyes shone like the sun for a moment every now and again, then clouded over with confusion, but his smile never faded.

"Somehow, I think Merric would have irritated me less if he had found me instead of you," Kel commented, looking at him sideways from the corner of her eye.

Jeraldine stifled a knowing giggle. Neal and Kel, oblivious, continued their subtle flirtation. Jeraldine came to the conclusion that they obviously did this unconciously, for neither of them brought up the fact that they only jested and Kel failed to mention Neal's fiancee.

One of the kitchen wenches scuttled out of the kitchen, juggling three plates of food. "Steak and the fruit?" she asked breathlessly, her dirty hair falling in her face.

"Mine, if you please," Neal held up his hand as the wench set it down rudely in front of him.

"Roasted chicken with the vegetables?" the wench attempted to toss her hair back out of her eyes but it fell back. Kel raised her hand and the wench set it down. "And this must belong to you. Have a nice supper."

She hurried off and returned moments later with their beverages: brandy for Neal (he hadn't had the heart to tell Kel that even though he technically didn't heed to the healers code at the moment, he still didn't drink brandy; it did funny things to him, funny things he couldn't afford with his tumultuous emotions), fruit juice for Kel, and a glass of cold wine for Jeraldine.

Kel ate ravenously, shovelling food into her mouth as civilly as she could manage. Shooting a dirty look at Neal when he chuckled amusedly at her, she waved her knife threateningly. "Just because I haven't had much to eat over the past few weeks doesn't mean I can't kick your ass just as badly as I did before," she told him.

"I think living with those bandits made you lose your keen sense of speech, love," he announced.

"Oh, remind me to tell you something about 'those bandits' when we go bed," Kel replied.

Jeraldine looked up, startled. "Do you mean to say you will sleep in Sir Neal's chambers this evening?"

"Yes." Kel nodded, painfully aware of her lack of proper Common.

"My word," she breathed, shocked. "Is...is this commonplace for those of Corus?"

"Well," Neal intervened, "we just thought that we would give you your privacy, and since Kel might as well be my sister..."

"I see." Jeraldine averted her eyes to her food, picking at it with her utensils.

"Oh!" Neal pulled the map of Tortall from his boot and laid it out on the table, having finished his meal between the conversations. "Your Grace, I need to discuss something with you."

"Certainly, Sir Neal," Jeraldine straightened in her chair, peering at the map.

Neal pointed to a dark triangle on the Great Road North, and a matching one on the other side, a small road leading northwest. "Merric," he said, with his finger on the northwestern road. "Us," he tapped the triangle on the Great Road North. "How long do you reckon we've been on the road, your Grace?"

"Five days, I suppose," Jeraldine answered.

Neal nodded. "Magistra," he said and pointed to a blue dot that represented the ducal fief. "Us," he once more tapped the dark triangle representing the wayhouse, "and unless we cut across into the forest here, where we have a high chance of getting robbed or Mithros knows what else, we have at least another six days of trekking across Tortall to do."

Jeraldine frowned. "Certainly we can make it faster than that?"

"Unless you know a shortcut, I'm afraid that's what we're left with," he answered helplessly. He really had meant to get her to Magistra in ten days. Against his avarice, Neal told her: "I won't charge you for the extra days we spend on the road. Merric and I promised you there in ten days and we failed to do so."

Kel remembered Neal saying they picked up Jeraldine in Port Seadawn and drew a path from Port Seadawn to Magistra in her mind. She gave an unladylike snort and shook her head. "Ten days from Seadawn to Magistra? Your Grace, no disrespect intended but, ten days from Point A to Point B isn't pushing it, it's downright impossible, even cutting straight across Tortall. I should know, Gherash and Udaan could only do it in twelve, and that _was_ cutting straight across Tortall."

A bit offended, Neal rolled up his map and stuck it back in his boot. "Well, Gherash and Udaan weren't Neal and Merric, who managed to cover from Port Seadawn to here in five days."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Not...exactly."

Kel rolled her eyes.

* * *

Neal sat in the lobby of the wayhouse around midnight, having had far too much brandy than he should have. His head felt light and unattached to his head, floating somewhere in the vicinity of the chimney. His throat burned from the gulps he had taken to try and calm his nerves, and his fingers and toes felt more than slightly tingly.

"Liver, don't fail me now," he muttered, taking another sip of the brandy.

Neal finally rose from the chair he had taken up residency in, he stumbled towards the front door, slamming into the wall next to it as his attempt to reach the doorknob failed. He winced at the noise it made, hoping the concierge didn't yell at him for making so much racket.

"Air," he said, thinking he had said it internally. "Cold air."

He somehow managed to jimmy open the door and found that, much to his chagrin, the night felt sticky and humid. "Dammit..." he swore and stumbled out of the door anyway, falling forward as he tried to pull the door closed behind him. He winced as it slammed shut, thinking that the concierge would never allow him or Kel into the wayhouse ever again.

"Kel," he murmured. He managed to make his way over to a bench sitting beside the pond on the wayhouse's property. He looked into the waters reflecting the night sky and his face, mussed and drunken as it was, and he pouted. His reflection turned to Kel's in his alcohol-addled mind and he smiled. "Kel."

He reached over to touch the reflection and pitched forward onto the bench. "Ow."

He picked himself up again and peered into the reflection again, still seeing Kel. "Kel, there's somethin' I gotta tell you," Neal said seriously to the reflection, none the wiser all he saw was a mirage. "See...I've fought this feelin' since I started lookin' for you...I don't love Yuki anymore...don't give me that look, jus' hear me out..." he cleared his throat. "I know who I really love now." He took a breath and slowly let it out. "I love you."

With a sudden stroke of brilliance, Neal's Gift took over and flooded his veins with most of what was left of his magic stores, detoxifying his body in an instant. The moment Neal regained sane, conscious thought, a headache the size of Tortall assailed his senses.

"Great Mother Goddess and Mithros in the realm beyond," he muttered. He reached into his magic and found it at almost nothing. "For the love of..."

Sighing, Neal pried himself from the bench and walked slowly into the wayhouse, opening and closing the front door with near silence. He trudged up to his room slowly, trying not to push his muscles too hard. He quietly slipped into the room he shared with Kel, shed his clothes without regard for where they landed, pulled his night clothes on drowsily, and flopped into bed.

He didn't sleep long though, because something warm and almost as long as him curled up in his bed next to him.

Neal's eyes went wide as he looked over his shoulder at Kel's head.

_Sleepwalking?_ he wondered, slowly rolling over, headache forgotten. He didn't want to wake her up, aware that she probably had only slept when her body had demanded it while with her kidnappers--Gherash and Udaan, he reminded himself.

Neal touched her shoulder gently, resulting in her scooting closer to him and his chest, effectively pinning his arm underneath her. _Well..._

"Dom..."

Neal refrained from stiffening at the name of his cousin, murmured in Kel's sleep. _Dom?! Why...why would she dream about Dom?!_

She snuggled further into Neal's chest, rolling over and nestling her head over his heart.

_...She dreams about Dom...when _I'm_ the one who loves her..._

Tentatively, Neal raised his hand and placed it on the back of her head, stroking her hair gently and drifting back to sleep.

* * *

"Kel..."

Kel groggily opened her eyes, blinking against the blinding sunlight bouncing off of the lake in front of her. Her hair felt longer than it should have, down to her waist she soon discovered. Blond tresses that caressed her well-muscled shoulders and slim waist swirled with her every move. She discovered she also wore a black satin dress.

"Kel..."

A voice on the wind called to her, familiar.

"What? Who whispers my name?" she looked around, finding she couldn't see anywhere about her, the lake blinding her so fully she couldn't make head nor tail of anything.

"Finally, you hear me," the voice wrapped around her, cornering her.

The voice made Kel's skin crawl. _A man's voice...but who?_

"Shame on you, Keladry of Mindelan," the voice said, smothering her. "You fail to remember my voice? Have you not heard it for _that_ long?"

Kel frowned, and suddenly the face of a familiar she had never hoped to see again became all-too-clear in her mind. "You..." she breathed, forcing her face to become Yamani blank. "What have you done to me? Why do I have such long hair? Why do I wear a dress?"

"I have made you the future queen of the Old Land, at my side. As my queen, you must comply with certain rules--such as your hair and your way of dressing. Believe me, my queen, you look stunning," the voice told her confidently.

"I don't _want_ to be your queen!" Kel cried. "Especially not yours."

The voice chuckled. "You don't have much choice, Keladry."

"I will _not_ obey you," she growled rebelliously, her Yamani face slipping away into a heated gaze directed at nothing and everything at once.

"You don't have any choice."

Kel narrowed her eyes. She knew she dreamed at the moment, but this dream lasted far longer than it should have. The words came across too clearly, she felt the slimy touch of the invisible source of the voice as if he truly did touch her while awake, and it didn't have quite as much of a surreal quality as most dreams did. She also had stopped dreaming since her Ordeal with the Chamber haunting her.

The harder she glared, the clearer her surroundings became until suddenly the light from the lake extinguished and left her in near darkness. She looked over her shoulder and saw a torch illuminating half of a tall body.

"Dom..." she wondered, squinting. "Dom?"

The torch blew out and darkness engulfed her.

When Kel opened her eyes again, she realized she was awake. She didn't feel as if she had slept at all either. Her skin crawled and she found herself pressing closer to the body she slept next to and almost on. Her mystery bed companion snored lightly, his hand cradling her head against his chest, and sleeping quite soundly. In an instant she knew: Neal. Of course--not only did it make sense because she had shared a room with him, but she would know the feel of Neal's hand on the back of her head anywhere. She also knew of his newly formed snoring habit, which he didn't realize he had developed. Kel would have to tell him when he woke up.

Kel felt safe lying next to Neal. She didn't know exactly how she got there in the first place and surmised she had sleepwalked over and invited herself under his covers, but she couldn't say for certain. She just wished that her heart wouldn't beat so fast. She thought she had controlled that reaction from fear a long time ago, especially fear from a...nightmare? Warning? She didn't know what had happened in the supposed dream. She knew that voice though, but she couldn't remember anymore, and simply the fact of knowing that he could visit her dreams anytime made her wish insomnia upon herself.

Unconsciously, Kel murmured Neal's name just loud enough to startle him from his slumber.

"Huh?" he asked ingeniously, his eyelids drooping so heavily they still covered most of his eyes. He glanced out of the window, taking more time than necessary to close and open his eyes. He yawned and scratched his chin, the whiskers from not shaving the day before making a noise like sandpaper against his calloused fingers. "Kel..." he yawned, dropping his hand from the back of her head to around her waist. "Why'd you wake me up? Have a nightmare or somethin'?"

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Kel muttered, wiggling her hips uncomfortably. She didn't like his arm around her waist, no matter how comforting he meant it. It just seemed like too much of an intimate position: even sleeping in the same bed seemed too intimate to Kel, but she was comfortable.

"I heard you whimpering about Dom," he mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I don't whimper," Kel said defensively.

"Sure you do," he argued. "What did you dream about?"

Kel looked at her hands, then continued wiggling her hips, trying to get his arm to leave their current position. Fortunately and unfortunately, Neal caught the hint and pulled his arm away. "I...I don't quite know myself..." she admitted. "Someone..." she stopped. "I don't remember anymore," she lied. "I just remember that I had heard the voice somewhere before."

"Strange," he murmured, rolling over. "Do you remember where you were? Or if anyone else was there? Why did you say Dom's name?"

"At the end...I thought I saw Dom," Kel told him, sighing. She looked out the window. "It's almost dawn."

"Yeah," Neal agreed. "So, do you remember anything else?"

"No," she lied again. She watched him turn his back to her. She instantly felt cold. "Sorry."

"Just a dream, Kel," Neal soothed her, his eyes closed. "You don't need to worry about it."

_But what about the Chamber and last summer?!_ her brain yelled. _You should tell him, Kel! You'll only push him away! Although, it seems too late to salvage that._

"You're right," Kel agreed quietly. Within moments, he had gone back to snoring. She sighed and turned her back to him. She had just put a rift between her and her best friend in the world.

* * *

Later that morning, when the sun had risen fully, Neal packed up Kel, Jeraldine, and all of their things into the carriage and hitched Seiryn to the front. He rode in silence, trying to eavesdrop on Jeraldine and Kel's conversation about who loved who. Maybe he could catch some hint about who Kel aimed her affections at at that moment. He wanted to know, so he could tell himself that he _had_ to love Yuki.

However, he heard nothing interesting. Just as Kel had started telling Jeraldine a story about how she used to have a crush on Neal's cousin, Jeraldine began to sob about Merric. Neal, by then, had taught himself how to tune out Jeraldine's weeping, insensitive as it may be. He just didn't like to hear her moan and cry about the exact same thing. Luckily, Neal wouldn't have to put up with it for much longer. He felt his death lying about a day's ride ahead: if he could stand her whining for that long. He may have to kill himself before then. Or maybe he could coax himself by saying, "It's only a little bit longer. It's only a little bit longer."

He was also sure that Kel wouldn't appreciate it very much if he stranded her with Jeraldine.

"Five more days, not counting today's ride," Neal muttered to himself. "Maybe quicker. Definitely quicker. I can't stand this for five days. Four days would be much quicker." He pulled out the map and held Seiryn's reins in one hand as he traced a shortcut in his mind. He knew of a small road that cut a day's ride out of the journey, and knew it would come up soon. In fact, he could see the subtle opening now. "Let's go, Seiryn," he said, pushing her a little faster.

Cane flew out of the body of the carriage to chirp angrily at Neal's sudden increase in speed. "Sorry!" he apologized. "I found a shortcut, Cane." Cane flew around his head. "Hey! And quite frankly, I'd like to cut a day out of our journey, if you don't mind."

Cane fluttered back into the carriage as Neal wheeled into the shortcut. Someone had built a small fence on either side of the dirt path, which meant that this small road was used more often than the last time he had used it himself. Hopefully he could get Jeraldine to Magistra within four days, omitting this day's ride. "Such a shortcut. Cuts out two days with one day's ride. Maybe I can find another one..."

"Neal!" Kel poked her head out the window of the carriage.

"Yes, my lady?" he answered.

"When did we leave the main road?" Kel asked.

"About five minutes ago. Observant today, aren't we?" he teased her.

"Oh, shut up Neal," Kel pulled her head back into the carriage. He heard Jeraldine giggle and Kel said, loud enough for Neal to hear, "Neal's just a big dolt with no brains."

"Oh, Kel. I think you've bruised me for life," he answered drolly.

"Why do I not doubt it," she replied just as dryly.

* * *

The next four days afterwards proceeded in much the same fashion. They actually arrived at Magistra without any problems, and Neal found he could put up with Jeraldine's moaning as long as Kel comforted her, and it stopped happening so often during the second day.

"Well," Neal said as he pulled the carriage through the main street of Magistra to the ducal castle. "Welcome home, Jeraldine."

"Home," she whispered as Neal helped her from the carriage. He held the door open for Kel as well, who just rolled her eyes and followed Jeraldine into the castle gates. Neal pulled the carriage into the stables, introduced himself, and waited while two of the servants took Jeraldine's things into the castle.

Neal ran around to the gate and caught up with the girls. "Oh, I can almost taste the gold nobles," Neal said to Kel. Kel hit his arm and sighed at his affinity for money. "This means I don't have to kill any animals to eat tonight!"

"You didn't have to kill any animals with Jeraldine in your company anyway," Kel pointed out.

"Yeah, but before then," Neal told her. Jeraldine looked up as her father entered the room.

"Jeri!" her father cried happily.

"Father!" Jeraldine ran to her father and hugged him tightly. Kel and Neal stood awkwardly in the background, just looking at each other, then at the Duke of Magistra and his daughter, then back at each other again. They didn't want to ruin the reunion.

"Who did you bring with you, Jeri?" the Duke asked.

Jeraldine turned to Kel and Neal and cleared her throat. "May I present Sir Nealan of Queenscove, Knight of Tortall, and Lady Keladry of Mindelan, Knight of Tortall. Sir Nealan escorted me from Port Seadawn to here in nine days."

Neal bowed to the Duke with Kel. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your Grace."

Kel, in turn, said the same thing.

"Sir Merric of Hollyrose accompanied Sir Neal until the fork between the road to Magistra and the road to Trebond. Father, I wish to speak to you about Sir Merric, if you would listen once our guests are settled," Jeraldine said formally.

"Of course," the Duke nodded. "A pleasure to have you in our home, Sir Nealan, Lady Keladry. I am the Duke of Magistra, Raslon. Should you need anything, alert one of the servants and they will fetch it for you. It would honor me to have you stay the night with us, and the day after, if possible."

"It would be our honor to spend the night, Duke Raslon. However, we will need to leave tomorrow morning," Neal responded. "Our sincere apologies."

"My sincere regrets," Duke Raslon answered. "I will have a servant show you to your rooms momentarily. Firstly, they need to be prepared."

"If at all possible, may Sir Neal and I share a room?" Kel asked of Duke Raslon.

"Certainly," Duke Raslon agreed. He called a servant forth and instructed her to prepare a room for Sir Neal and Lady Kel. Within fifteen minutes, the same servant came back and swiftly showed the two knights to their room.

"Supper will be served at half an hour after the sun sets," the servant told them. "Dress appropriately."

"Thank you," Neal nodded. Once the servant left, both Neal and Kel flopped onto the bed. "I am so glad we're finally without Little Miss Whines-a-lot."

"You can say that again."


	6. All Clammed Up

Special thanks to Cami, who prodded me all today and yesterday to get this written.

**All Clammed Up**

Kel approached Neal in her normal clothes. Neal recognized the place as Kel's rooms back at Corus and smiled. He loved Corus. It had been home to him for the last eight years, and home to Kel as well. When they got married...

Neal scratched his head in confusion. When they got married? He looked down at his hand, seeing a gold band on his ring finger and looked at Kel's hand. She wore a matching one, and he could see the emerald glinting in contrast with the gold. He knew it was a wedding ring he had given to her, because he had described that ring to her before. The ring he would give to his true love.

Kel smiled at him and planted a light kiss on his lips, sending jolts through Neal's body even though he knew he was in a dream. He sucked in his breath through his teeth and took in her image. No matter what Kel thought, Neal had always thought everything about her was beautiful. "Kel..."

"Hey you," she murmured, kissing him again, this time a little more deeply. He didn't let her go this time, taking full advantage of a dream that would never happen. When he finally let her breath, her cheeks flushed and she gasped for air. "Missed me?"

"You have no idea," he told her softly. "Can I kiss you from here until eternity?"

Kel laughed and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "I don't know. I don't see why not, Neal. Except...we're knights and human beings as well."

"The human being part says we can start procreating any time soon now," Neal hinted.

_Hey..._

Kel laughed and kissed him again. "As knights, I somehow think that King Jonathan wouldn't appreciate one of his knights pregnant."

"Then wear your charm," Neal suggested. "I won't mind."

"Actually," Kel said slyly. "I think I might not."

Neal grinned. "Love you, Keladry of Mindelan."

"Love you too, Nealan of Queenscove," she returned the smile.

"Hey, you'll be duchess of Queenscove soon as Father steps down," Neal pointed out, just realizing this.

"And that will make you a duke. A healing, wonderful, daring, cunning, courageous, caring knight of a duke of Queenscove. Hopefully with a beautiful child with all of your charm and wit, with me by your side," Kel told him wistfully.

"Care to get started on the beautiful child?" Neal wanted toknow. For the second time he had wanted to get into bed with him. _Male hormones,_ he mentally snorted distastefully. But Kel loved him, at least in his mind, so it didn't matter. Kel nodded as Neal held his hand out to her. "Let us go, my beautiful, charming Lady and Future Duchess of Queenscove."

"Neal."

"What now?"

"Neal."

"Did you change your mind? Is it because you think I still love Yuki? I don't, you know. Always loved you though, Kel."

"Neal."

"What _is_ it?"

"Neal, wake up."

He found himself shoved rather rudely and upon the floor. "Ouch."

"You big baby."

Neal took a moment to orient himself...meaning he twisted so he stared at Kel from his back. His legs rested halfway on the bed and he found Kel leaning appealingly over the edge of said bed, the small area where the top button of her shirt remained unclosed, revealing a little more cleavage than he was sure that she meant too. "What do you want, Kel?"

"Lady Jeraldine wants to talk to you. I told her you would wake up soon about an hour ago and she started whining, so I came to wake you up because she ordered me too," Kel explained.

"Let me get decent and grab something to eat. I'll meet her--" Neal found himself interrupted.

"She wants to see you _now_," Kel said warningly. "I won't be held responsible for going against Jeraldine's orders for your lack of compliance. Dress yourself and follow me."

Neal pulled his legs from the bed and picked up a pair of pants from the floor. He yanked them on, found a shirt, and hurriedly finished his morning routine. He followed Kel from the room they shared, painfully aware or his dream and the fact she had stood inside by the door while he dressed. He felt his heart flutter at her almost girly outfit, her plain skirt given to her obviously by Jeraldine and the shirt with the cleavage. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, as his heart had taken residence somewhere in the vicinity of his throat.

"Neal?" Kel asked, worry sparkling in her crystalline gaze. "Neal, you look like you might vomit."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he managed to tell her dryly.

Kel laughed, rewarded with a sharp look from Neal. "Neal, I do believe you fancy the lady of the castle."

Neal sputtered, his throat suddenly cleared. "No! Gods, no! _I_ don't fancy her--I don't fancy her in the least!" he protested, having no idea how guilty of harboring those feelings it made him look. "Especially since she and Merric will obviously marry as soon as he comes back from his 'quest' thing. Besides, I..." he paused. "I love Yuki, remember?"

"That wasn't what you said in your sleep," Kel smirked.

The color drained from Neal's face and he felt it appropriate to melt into a puddle some time soon. He frowned though, coming to an epiphany that rattled his sense of security, his trust in his best friend. "Kel..."

She stopped and faced him as he paused in his walk. "What? Do you really think you'll vomit? I didn't mean it, I was only joking with you."

He shook his head and approached her carefully. "You've...changed."

Kel blinked stupidly at him. "Changed? How so?"

"You're..." he started, searching her face for some reason to give her. "You tease me a lot more. You haven't said a word about Tobe or Jump or Hoshi since I found you. And you tease me a lot more."

"You said I tease you a lot more twice," Kel pointed out.

Neal frowned again. "You're more sarcastic. A lot...meaner too. I don't know what's wrong with you, but I think Gherash and Udaan influenced you in bad ways."

"I haven't changed," Kel whispered. "I just..." she stopped. She started leading Neal to Jeraldine again. "I'll tell you later. I still haven't told you all of what happened to me because we were never alone long enough, what with Jeraldine in the other room constantly or right below us. I still haven't told you what I wanted to tell you about Gherash and Udaan either."

"Promise me you'll tell me," Neal said seriously.

She simply nodded and led him to Jeraldine's rooms, where she waited impatiently for the male knight. "There you are!" she exclaimed when they finally arrived at her rooms. "Thank you, Lady Keladry."

Kel gave a little wave and dashed off, leaving Neal to his own defenses against Jeraldine.

"Um, pleasant morning, Your Grace," Neal said nervously. "What brings me to your chambers?"

"I have a few things I would like to discuss with you, Sir Neal. First of all, you may address me as simply 'Jeraldine', and I expect that I may call you 'Neal'?" Jeraldine asked plainly, answered by a nod from the taller man. "Very well then, Neal. As familiars, I want to ask you a very personal question." He gulped audibly at the prospect of enduring a personal question from Jeraldine. "And I expect an honest answer. You see, you happen to be a very terrible liar, and should you try to deceive me I shall see it on your face." The color drained, yet again, from Neal's face. "I heard Lady Keladry say you shall be married as soon as you return to Corus, to a lady at the court there. Is this true?"

Neal nodded. "Yes, it's true."

Jeraldine studied his face for a moment, satisfied that he was telling the truth. She continued on. "Do you love this lady at the court?"

Neal, rather than answer, simply stayed quiet. He would rather not answer such a personal question because he mainly didn't know the correct response to that himself. Jeraldine gave him a meaningful look, to which he answered, "I don't rightly know, Jeraldine."

She took one glimpse of his colored cheeks and smirked. "I told you that you lie terribly, Neal. I can see that you lie right now. Tell me the truth: do you love this lady?"

"Do I love Lady Yukimi?" he murmured to himself. He sighed and finally admitted to himself what he had fought since before the journey. "No, I don't think I do."

"Then why do you wish to marry her?" Jeraldine prodded. She would force Neal into action with Kel if she had to order him to do it. She could see by the way the two looked at each other that they were more than best friends but didn't want to admit it.

"I don't. Not anymore," Neal shook his head, sinking into a chair by the door. Jeraldine sat across from him on her bed, watching him intently. "At the time I suggested we wed, I did love her. I thought I loved her with all of my heart that didn't belong to Kel, her horses, Jump, my horses, Roald, Merric, and the residents of New Hope, as well as the Lady Baroness of Pirate's Swoop, and all of her family. I know that seems like a lot of people, but as a healer, I have a big heart, so I had lots of room. I thought...well, it doesn't matter what I thought, because I don't think it anymore. But do you understand, Jeraldine? Do you understand why I wanted to marry her?"

Jeraldine blinked, surprised. Neal certainly seemed to need to talk about this. Briefly, she wondered if Merric ever listened to him--then came to the conclusion that he didn't. In the few days she knew Merric and fell in love with him, he had always seemed the quiet, straight-down-to-business type that didn't fool around with other problems than the one he focused on. And he had focused on the task of transporting her from Port Seadawn to Fief Magistra, as well as whatever the prince had told him to do. Obviously he had ignored Neal's inner turmoil. Or perhaps it hadn't surfaced until after Merric left their party.

"I think I understand. You thought you were in love with her, right? You thought it the truest, most pure kind of love," Jeraldine surmised.

Neal agreed. "Exactly. But then..."

"I hate to interrupt, but this leads into my next question. Do you have anyone you're in love with right now that proves that the way you loved Lady Yukimi is nothing compared to the way you love this other person?" Jeraldine continued.

"Yes," Neal whispered solemnly.

"Lady Keladry?" she asked of him quietly.

"Yes," Neal said just as softly, nodding miserably. "I never thought of her that way until about a month...no...three weeks...I don't remember. But I didn't start feeling these...feelings...about...no, for her until then. Until I dropped my wedding and came riding like a madman after her and her kidnappers. I don't necessarily know what happened, or if perhaps I just percieve her normal teasing more sensitively, but I think she changed from the Kel that I watched grow up before my eyes. The one I knew as a ten-year-old and watched grow into a...beautiful, bold, courageous, caring, perfect woman. I don't know if I'm too old for her though. I'm sure she'd rather have someone younger than me, one of our yearmates. I'm a good five years older than Kel, Jeraldine. She's twenty--I'm twenty-five."

"If I remember correctly, the difference between Merric's and my ages is something around four years," Jeraldine told him. "One more year won't make a difference. I'm certain that Lady Keladry feels the same way. I will bet you a gold noble that she hasn't had at least one crush on you, Neal."

"Speaking of money," Neal said. "I would like to be paid now. I brought you here in nine days, so that's nine gold nobles, if you please. I would like it sometime before I leave today."

"I promise your payment as soon as I find out whether I win the bet or not," Jeraldine said demurely. "However. What about the present? Do you think that perhaps Lady Keladry may return your feelings?"

Neal looked to the floor. A million thoughts raced through his head, memories of their page years flashing in his mind's eye. Could she love him back? "I honestly don't know. I don't think so. I think she lo..." he stopped abruptly. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, because when I return to Corus, I will marry Yuki. I will make her happy...because she does love me."

"But what about _your_ happiness?" Jeraldine argued. "Be selfish, Neal. Now, what did you mean to say about Keladry and who she loves?"

Neal closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in his lap. "I...I don't know for certain," he said very quietly. Jeraldine had to strain her ears to hear him properly. "I think...I think she loves...my cousin."

"That poses a problem," Jeraldine murmured. She rose and escorted Neal to the door. "Thank you for your time, Neal. I shall get your nobles to you after I have a little chat with Lady Mindelan."

* * *

Kel slipped out of the castle sitting at the center of Fief Magistra and wandered down the streets. She had changed out of the skirt Jeraldine had insisted upon her wearing and now wore a pair of dark brown, mud-colored breeches with a maroon shirt. She left the top button open, the shirt having constricted her torso too much at the neck. She felt her face begin to burn somewhat at the sidelong glances men on the street gave her. She wished desperately she had thought to bring a horse, but she hadn't wanted Neal to worry about her more than he had too. She didn't intend to stay out longer than an hour anyway.

She had a specific place in mind as she appeared to meander down the streets aimlessly. When she found the secluded, hidden alleyway tucked behind a large general items store, she walked as inconspicuously as she could manage into the shadows. Just ahead of her glittered two dangerously bright, surreal eyes.

"I came," she said tonelessly. "What do you want?"

"Do you have it yet?"

Kel stared at the space above the sparkling eyes and set her face Yamani blank. "No. You must understand, though--"

"I set you straight in its path. I practically handed it to you on a silver platter. How dare you disobey me! You miserable wench!"

Kel refused to flinch, though the tone and pitch of the voice make her bones rattle. "He has not given me a moment to take it. You did not give it to me on a silver platter!"

_Calm, calm. Yamani calm,_ Kel told herself. _Face adversity with your strengths and abandon your weaknesses._

"You have two months to bring it to Our Master. If you should fail, your friend will die."

Kel closed her eyes for a moment, stilling her frantic pulse. When she opened her eyes, she stared straight at the murderous, twinkling ones just ahead of her. "You have already killed Tobe. You have already murdered my dog, and you have broken my best horse to the point of no return. I know you don't make empty threats, but I don't fear their deaths any longer. Make no mistake, I will have it to you by the end of two months. Where do I deliver it?"

"We will send a messenger."

Kel nodded, her eyes dull and unreadable. "Until the two months is over, you will _not_ harm him."

"Yes." The voice paused for a moment. "You may leave." The eyes disappeared and Kel stalked out of the alley. She didn't realize that her hands shook and her legs felt like they would collapse underneath her until she reached the Magistra Manor's gates. Kel took a deep breath, willing her nerves to calm themselves, and took purposeful strides into the castle.

"Lady Keladry?"

Kel jumped and whirled on the source of the voice, her dagger drawn. "Oh," Kel said dully, realizing who had said her name. She slid the dagger back into the sheath and nodded. "Good morning, Lady Jeraldine. I trust your conversation with Sir Neal turned out as you had hoped."

"Somewhat," Jeraldine admitted. "However, our discussion prompted me to have one with you. If you would please follow me to my chambers..."

Kel inwardly cursed her bad luck. She really didn't care for this Lady Jeraldine person. However, because Kel had put herself through knight training and had lived on the Yamani Isles, she told herself that to listen to what Lady Jeraldine, a noble lady, had to say meant more than her pride at that moment. Begrudgingly, she followed the blond haired girl to the lady's chambers. Once inside the spacious room, Kel sat in the same chair by the door that Neal had sat in not more than thirty minutes ago.

Jeraldine noticed this and hid her smile. Perhaps coincidence, perhaps fate. She felt though, through her Gift that she hid from everyone, that Kel and Neal would have entwined lives for the rest of their days. "Lady Keladry," she said seriously. "I have one important thing I would like to discuss with you. First of all, just so formalities may be set aside, may I call you 'Kel'?"

Kel nodded. "Everyone else does."

"In return, you may call me simply 'Jeraldine'. A friend of Merric's is a friend of mine." Jeraldine nodded. "However, I did not call you here simply to dispense of our formal titles when in good company. I asked to speak with you for one reason."

Kel just wished that Jeraldine would hurry up and get to her point. She had important things to do, like save a certain kidnapped man's life. She had exactly two months to complete the task. Stalling and sitting in Lady Jeraldine's chambers didn't particularly qualify as searching for what the Master wanted from her. "Do you care to tell me your reason?"

"Well," Jeraldine said quietly as she curled her legs in a ladylike manner underneath her dress. "I suppose the best way to tell you is to say the truth. A friend and I made a bet, a gold noble, that you had a crush on Sir Neal when you served as a page at the palace in Corus."

Kel felt her face start to burn. _How would she know about that? Did Neal tell her or something? I didn't even think Neal knew, let alone would tell someone about it._ "Oh?"

Jeraldine nodded enthusiastically. "You see, I don't particularly want to lose a gold noble. I think you did have a crush on Neal, but my friend thinks not."

Kel debated affirming or denying the statement. Jeraldine studied the female knight, but she had carefully set her face Yamani blank since she had stepped foot into the lady's chambers. Jeraldine had no way of deciphering the older girl's thoughts. "I'm afraid you've lost a gold noble, Lady Jeraldine," Kel told the woman, aloof. "I have not had a crush on Neal."

_Not a total lie,_ Kel consoled herself. _I didn't think of it as a crush at the time._

"Oh," Jeraldine sounded deflated. "I see. Well, I suppose my friend can read faces better than I. Either that or they have a Gift they've yet to tell me about."

Kel thought it odd that Jeraldine had purposely omitted the gender of this "friend". Then a thought suddenly struck her: Jeraldine said she wished to discuss something because it arose during her conversation with _Neal_. Perhaps...perhaps Neal hadn't known that Kel had had a crush on him during her page years. Perhaps Neal had had a suspicion and had asked Jeraldine to investigate. _But why would he do that?_ Kel wondered. _I don't think he would do something like that. Neal has Yuki. Why would he worry about what has happened in the past, especially so far back as our page years?_

"May I go now?" Kel asked rudely.

Jeraldine nodded her consent and watch the knightess leave. "Strange," she murmured. Neal dropped by her chambers then.

"Your father said to see you about the gold nobles," Neal informed her. "The exact words he told me included, 'She asked for your escort service, so she will pay for your escort service.'"

Jeraldine rolled her eyes and walked over to a small chest. When she opened it, gold, silver, bronze, copper, and every other color of money imaginable nearly tumbled from it. She picked out nine gold nobles and handed then to Neal. "I asked her if she had a crush on you earlier in life."

Neal went pale. "Oh."

"She said no," Jeraldine admitted. "So this makes ten gold nobles. I hope you don't haul off and spend that all on silly things."

"This goes towards the 'Kel and Neal Need Money For Places To Eat and Sleep' treasury. Should last us until we reach Corus. From there I can weasel money out of Prince Roald or Yuki," Neal told her jokingly. "Well," he said, after no response but a small "ha" from the lady, "I suppose Kel and I should head on out now."

"I suppose you should," Jeraldine agreed.

Neal nodded and left the room. He wandered the hallway in search of Jeraldine's father, Raslon, again. He finally found the man sitting on an armchair in the library, reading. "Duke Raslon?"

The older man shut his book and looked up at Neal. "Did you manage to get Jeri to part with her money?"

Neal nodded and held the small bag filled with ten gold nobles and put it safely away in his pocket. "I just meant to say that Kel and I will leave here shortly. Thank you for your generous hospitality."

"Thank you for staying with us," Duke Raslon countered. "I only wish you could stay for the party tonight."

Neal laughed. Duke Raslon looked at him, bewildered. Neal just shook his head and explained: "Kel would have made me take her back to Corus the moment she found out about this party anyway. She can't stomach parties very well; she thinks they're superficial and pointless."

"I see," Duke Raslon agreed. "I don't care much for parties myself, but Jeri loves to hold them."

"Somehow, I don't feel surprised," Neal replied dryly. "However, thank you still for your hospitality and your kindness. Kel and I may visit another day on our way somewhere else."

Duke Raslon smiled. "It would certainly fill this dreary castle with a little cheeriness if our guests would stay longer."

"I wish we could, Your Grace," Neal answered. "I really must go pack my things up though. Goodbye, your Grace."

"Farewell, Sir Nealan," Duke Raslon replied, opening his book again and continuing his reading.

* * *

Neal and Kel attached the carriage to Seiryn as they left the Magistra Manor. They kept all of their bags except for the map and a few of the packages of dried fruit and meat in the back of the carriage, perched on the seats and sitting on the floor. Kel had remained silent for the majority of the trip that day. Neal, wary, finally broached the topic as the last wisps of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

"I think you've become the Yamani Lump as of late."

"Sorry," Kel said flatly, almost lifelessly. "I didn't realize I had."

Neal tossed her a look over his shoulder, quickly fixing his gaze upon the road ahead. "I know something must be bothering you for you to slip back into Yamani Lump stage."

"How keen of you," Kel murmured absently, watching the silhouetted trees pass by them and the carriage.

Neal almost flinched at the iciness of her voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kel said one word. "No."

"No?" Neal felt almost as if rather than speaking, Kel had slapped him. She simply looked at him after he repeated her decision, conveying nothing and everything with her blank stare. "See...you...changed. You've changed, Mindelan."

Kel felt slapped this time. She felt her eyes well up with tears and she tried to blink them furiously back. The rift she had set between herself and Neal a few days prior seemed to grow in that crucial moment. "If you say so, Queenscove."

Neal brought the carriage to an acrupt halt in front of a wayhouse they had luckily just reached. He leapt from the perch and waited until Kel followed suit before leading Seiryn and the carriage to the stables. He requested that Kel's bag be brought to which ever room Lady Keladry of Mindelan chose to stay in, and promptly lugged his own bags into the wayhouse. He didn't know quite why or how he and Kel declared a quiet way on each other, but it confused and hurt him. Perhaps his use of "Mindelan" so contemptuously and her use of "Queenscove" equally as disdainfully had sparked it.

Neal entered the wayhouse to find Kel had already claimed a room for herself and had gone up the stairs to find it. Neal paused at the keeper of the wayhouse and got for himself a key to the room across from the one Kel had chosen. He carried his bags up the stairs; the hostler in charge of Kel's bag suddenly behind him. As he reached his room, the hostler shoved past him and knocked on Kel's door.

Kel opened it, took her bag, thanked the hostler, and watched him leave. Then, without a word, she turned to close her door, but watched Neal struggle with the key to his room and rolled her eyes. She finally heard the soft click of the lick sliding out of place and watched him dart into the room. However, he caught sight of her standing halfway hidden behind her door and staring at him in a shyly apologetic way, and his resolve to punish her with silence began to crumble. Punish her for what he couldn't exactly place his finger on, but he knew it had something to do with the fact that she had clammed up when she should have opened up to him.

Instead of saying something, Neal yanked the key out of the doorknob and stepped fully inside of the room, the door closing of its own accord behind him, leaving Kel staring at the door.

_Well, you've done it this time, Kel._

* * *

Neal stared at the dark ceiling of his room. Floorboards creaked outside as the wayhouse settled and sank further into its foundation. The open windy at the rear of the room allowed a warm September breeze to flutter in and ruffle the light curtains, and the crickets outside, rather than lulling him to sleep, kept him awake. For lack of anything else to think about, aside from the cruel treatment he had taken to bestowing upon his best friend as of late, he surmised that a storm would roll in soon. Neal didn't particularly want to stay stranded at a wayhouse while the muddy roads dried enough for Seiryn and the carriage to carry them back to Corus, but he knew that he would stay if he needed to. He wouldn't have a choice _but_ to stay if it rained.

Neal felt too warm. He kicked the light blanket covering his lower half off and felt cooled for a moment, then found he had cooled off too much and pulled the blanket back on. He proceeded much in this fashion for the next fifteen minutes. During a stage in the cycle where he had started to pull the blanket back on, he heard the floorboards creak just outside his door under the weight of a person. He heard a door close, and the footsteps approached his door. He heard a hand rest on the door and one clunked softly onto the knob, and the noises stopped. Whoever stood outside his door had suddenly lost the nerve to enter his room uninvited, or had had second thoughts about what might lie inside once he or she entered. Instead of rising out of the bed and crouching in a particularly hidden part of the room, Neal reached for the dagger sitting on the table next to his bed and slid it underneath the blanket, hidden next to his leg with his hand on the hilt.

He closed his eyes and waited for the visitor to open the door. Those few seconds of the visitor's hesitation lasted for eternities as Neal's body lie taut and ready for action, and he struggled not to jump when the door finally did inch open. He didn't hear the visitor breathe at all and figured whoever it was had training in that area. However, only knights and royalty, along with the occasional exceptions like nobility escorted by knights, stayed at the wayhouse. Neal heard a floorboard in his room creak and wondered how old the building was absently, and heard the visitor freeze.

He heard the visitor let out a low, slow breath, almost inaudible. Who would want to sneak into _his_ room?

And suddenly, the identity of the person hit him: Kel.

Should he wait and see what she did? Or should he open his eyes and scare her half to death? Now that he knew who had barged into his room without permission, Neal felt his body relax. He would wait and see if Kel tried to wake him up. He would wait and see what she wanted from him in his sleep, and desperately fended off the thoughts now invading his mind. It wouldn't do for Kel to see another part of his anatomy wake up without him. Mithros help him, he felt something so much deeper for Kel than friendship, but he could never tell her. Even in Kel's altered personality state, he knew he still cared so much more deeply for her than he should have. He knew Kel had her reasons, and she wouldn't keep silent to him forever. He would just have to wait it out and see why she wouldn't tell him what bothered her when she felt ready to tell him.

Kel sat lightly on the edge of Neal's bed and place a hand over his through the blanket. "Neal," she murmured softly. His eyelids fluttered lightly of their own accord, protesting having stayed shut so long. "Neal, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you why I have to be so cold to you...but I can't. I can't let them know I still care about you." She leaned lightly forward, and Neal shifted slightly so he wouldn't have to think about the way a certain part of _her_ anatomy brushed his arm, and she kissed his cheek softly. "You're my best friend, Neal. Never forget that."

She rose from his bed and crept back out of the room, the door shutting softly behind her. He waited until her footsteps disappeared into the room across the hallway and sighed. He sat up, feet resting on the floor over the side of his bed, already warm from where she had sat, and slowly raised his hand to his cheek. A small smile graced his lips. He knew she had had a reason for not sharing information and treating him so rudely.

But now Neal felt like an absolute heel. He'd just have to apologize to her in the morning.


	7. Perhaps Coincidence: Part 1

**Author's Notes: **Neal left in the wee beginnings of August. More like the last day of July. So, in grand total, Neal spent six weeks on the road. Which means that, at the end of this part, they're in the middle of September. Just letting you know.

**Perhaps Coincidence (Part One)**

When Neal descended the stairs to eat breakfast with the rest of the wayhouse, he found the table devoid of Kel. He figured she thought he hadn't heard her supposedly secret confessed apology, or she knew and didn't want to face him. The former seemed more probable than Kel avoiding him, though he didn't know for certain in this turbulent time. In response to this thought, Neal ate quickly and piled a plateful of breakfast food for Kel and hurried up the stairs. This would serve as Neal's proverbial olive branch, he decided. The proverbial olive branch that would let Kel know that he forgave her for acting so differently, and he knew that for some reason she had to prove or at least act like she didn't care about him for some reason, so he would forgive her for that too. He would have too. He wanted too.

Neal stopped at Kel's door and shifted the tray to one hand as he rapped lightly on her door. It opened moments later, revealing a startled, sleepy Kel. She blinked awkwardly at him, reached up and finger-combed her hair quickly and stepped aside to let him in. He accepted the invitation silently and set the tray on a desk sitting perpendicular to the window and parallel to the small hearth. He looked up and at her, approaching her slowly. Beseechingly, he searched her eyes for a spark of something, any emotion at all.

"Sorry," he said gruffly. He dropped his gaze from Kel. "I know we declared war on each other yesterday, but I don't like us fighting. Fighting means we have bitter feelings towards each other, and I...I don't like feeling that way at you, Kel. So...I'm sorry."

Kel felt the tears drift down her cheeks before she knew she had started to cry. She wiped them away and said, "Thank you."

Neal nodded, still not looking at her, and headed out. "We leave as soon as you finish eating and getting ready. I haven't been to Corus in a month and a week, which means you haven't gone back to the palace in...three months, roughly. I want to get there as soon as we can. I just wish we had another horse to help Seiryn pull the carriage faster."

"We have ten gold nobles, don't we?" Kel asked suddenly. Neal nodded. "We could buy a horse from the wayhouse keeper. Certainly he has some he would sell willingly for a gold noble or two."

"Good idea," Neal agreed. "I'll go finish packing and go negotiate with the keeper about an extra horse." He darted out of Kel's room across the hallway and made sure everything had gone back into his bags. Satisfied that everything had, he headed down the stairs again, unaware of Kel, who ran across the hallway as fast as she could and slipped into his room.

"I wonder if he has it," Kel murmured to herself. She pulled open one of Neal's bags and riffled through the contents, looking for a royal purple, cylindrical tube with a red capping that had a golden tassle hanging from it. Letters no one but the Master could understand adorned the sides of the tube. "Come on, come on...Bardev said he had it!" she exclaimed frustratedly, closing the bag. She picked up the smaller one and felt around for something vaguely resembling the shape of the tube, and sighed at the lack of purple tubing in Neal's bags. That meant either Jeraldine had it, or Merric had it. "Impossible for Merric to have it, though...Bardev would have said something."

She left Neal's room and hurriedly ate her breakfast once safely inside her own. She had packed everything for the day's journey the night before, and wondered when Neal began to leave so late on journey days. Kel quickly changed her clothes and waited outside the room, her bag slung over a shoulder, watching for Neal to appear in the hallway. When he finally did, he had a look of regret and relief upon his handsome features.

"We have another horse," Neal announced. "However, we only have eight nobles now. We'll have to stretch them."

"I doubt it," Kel told him, nonchalantly. "We can afford to sleep on the ground occasionally. How long will it take to get to Corus?"

Neal quickly calculated in his head the amount of time it would take for them to go from eleven miles outside Magistra to Corus, and promptly came up with a figure. "Six days, give or take a day or so depending on the obedience of this new beast of a horse."

"I see," Kel said. She waited as Neal retrieved his bags from his room and Cane took a perch on his shoulder. "Will we leave now?"

"I hope so," Neal replied as they headed down the stairs. "Looks like it."

* * *

  
Three days later, Neal and Kel had stopped on the side of the Great Road East to relieve themselves. When they came back, they found that their money, valuable clothing, and Neal's book on the Abscador Scroll had gone missing. Someone had robbed them on while they had relieved themselves. The only things they had left were a map, the weapons they carried, the actual bags themselves.

"Dammit!" Neal cursed. "How the hell did this happen?! I hid the carriage well! Merric and I used to do this all the time! Not so much with Jeraldine with us because she claimed using nature as a latrine was unsanitary--"

"She's right, you know," Kel interrupted. "And anyway, they only took money and clothes."

"'Only' money and clothes?! _Only_?! Kel, do you understand that the only clothes we have now we seem to be wearing right now?! And...they took my book. They took my book!" Neal growled, upset. However, he climbed up to the perch at the top of the carriage and picked up the reins.

Kel rejoined him on the perch and patted his arm. His anger seemed to lessen and finally he sighed. "We'll reach Corus soon anyway."

"Exactly," Kel agreed. "When we get there, we can just restock our supplies. Even if we have to wear palace clothes."

Neal snorted. "Palace clothes? I don't think so. Not if I can help it."

"I think spending so much time with Jeraldine turned you into a knight who wants higher quality materials," Kel informed him.

"And I think spending so much time with Jeraldine turned you into a girl," he told her. "I saw you wearing the skirt yesterday morning and a couple days ago."

Kel's cheeks colored a little. Why had she worn that stupid skirt again? Some impulsive feminine need? She rolled her eyes at Neal and crossed her arms over her chest. "Spying on me now, Neal?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Neal retorted. "Although, I must say, you did look rather appealing in that skirt." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, pleased that her cheeks colored a little more. "Now, I don't know about a certain part of female anatomy..."

"Neal!" she cried, hitting him on the arm.

Neal laughed, and she hit him again. "Did I get to you, Kel?"

"Oh, gee, Neal, I don't think so," she huffed sarcastically.

_That's the Kel I know and lo--like,_ Neal thought, smiling to himself. He had missed her. He slid an arm around Kel's waist and hugged her to him, using one hand to hold the reins. He felt Kel stiffen at first, which he dismissed as her remembering she had to not show affection for some reason, but she gave in and leaned on his shoulder.

Neal kissed the top of her head. "I've missed this Kel."

"I've missed this Kel too," she murmured. "You have no idea how long I've just wanted to relax again...I want normalcy..."

"I can help you get it back," he offered.

Kel felt like crying. Her desperation made him worry, her secretiveness pushed him away, and now, because he was selfless Neal, he wanted to help her get what the Master wanted. But she couldn't ask him, because he didn't have it, and if she told him, they would take him next.

And she _really_ didn't want that.

"Sorry," she muttered, shaking her head. "I don't think you can."

_There she goes. All secrets again,_ Neal thought bitterly. _But she will tell me, all in due time. I hope._

Kel pulled away from him then, much to Neal's chagrin, and he once more took hold of the reins with both hands. Better to get to Corus as soon as he could, that way he could marry Yuki and beat his...whatever he had for Kel to the back of his mind. He would have to think of Yuki, and children he would have with her. He had to think about other things besides Kel. He had, like the man with no brain he seemed to be lately, run off after dropping everything to find Kel. He had found her, after running all over the continent, and somehow found his feelings ran so much deeper now. Big mistake.

Maybe...maybe if he would stop wondering what it felt like to kiss her, he would be okay. Or maybe if he actually _did_ kiss her, he would stop wondering, and he would find that kissing her felt like kissing a sister. Or something. Because he hadn't meant to start liking Kel as more than a friend, he really hadn't. He knew that something had always sat there in the back of his heart, waiting for a chance, and he handed that little spark a golden opportunity. What had started as a spark now roared with flames. He lo--

_No!_ he mentally beat those thoughts away. _Stop it! I don't WANT to think about Kel that way! She's my best friend!_

Kel watched a myriad of emotions cross Neal's brooding face. She had no idea what he thought about, but she guessed it had something to do with her lack of openness. If only he heard her apology a couple nights ago, then maybe he would understand...

"How long ago did you see Yuki?" Kel asked quietly, trying to make small talk.

"Almost a month and a half," Neal replied softly.

Kel nodded. "Do you miss her?"

Neal debated what to tell her in his mind for a moment or two and finally answered with, "Yes."

"Stupid question, right?" Kel wanted to know. "Of course you miss Yuki. You love her more than anything and you'll get married as soon as we get back to Corus and get settled."

"Something like that," Neal agreed in a roundabout way. _Liar! Liar!_ his heart screamed at him.

_Shut up!_ his mind yelled at his heart. Neal tired easily of this constant battle between his mind and heart. He would have to give into his heart eventually, he knew. He wanted to keep others under the illusion that he loved Yuki though.

"Did you ask Dom to serve as your best man?" Kel inquired, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

"I did," Neal affirmed. "And he accepted."

"Who else did you ask to serve as ushers?" she asked absently.

"Cleon, Merric, and Roald," Neal shrugged. "Roald kind of looked at me funny when I asked him to be an usher, and he wanted to know why he hadn't been requested to serve as the best man. Cleon, too."

"Merric just said, 'if you want me too', right?" Kel surmised.

"Just about," Neal laughed a little. Silence, save for the horse's hooves and the carriage wheels, settled over them again.

* * *

  
When Corus finally came into sight in the horizon three days later (it had showered a little on the fifth day of the trip back to Corus, stalling them for a day while they waited for the roads to dry up enough to take a carriage and two temperamental horses on it), Neal almost cried out with relief. Kel actually did. She hadn't seen Corus for longer than he had, and he felt so comforted by the fact that he had come home after rescuing Kel that he urged the horses faster.

"Neal, I think I may jump off of the carriage and kiss the ground once we get inside," Kel said happily. "I can't wait to see everyone again..."

"You and me both," Neal agreed hastily. "I wonder if Merric's back yet?"

"Maybe," Kel said blankly. She hoped that Neal didn't ask her if she knew anything about Merric because then she would have to lie and say she didn't.

Within an hour and a half, Neal and Kel reached the castle gates. The guards, happy to see two faces they hadn't seen in a _very_ long time, let them in immediately, not bothering to ask about the carriage. Three hostlers ran up and took Seiryn, the new horse, and the carriage as soon as the two riders clambered off and grabbed their empty bags.

"I think they missed us," Neal said to Kel, grinning his patented way. Kel just rolled her eyes and scanned the yard for people she knew. "Well, let's go get reunions started, shall we? I know a couple of people will almost jump for joy when they see you."

They entered the palace and got stopped every few moments to get a "welcome back! Where did you go off to?". They somehow managed to get to their quarters, change into new clothes, and went together to go find someone they knew.

"_Kel!_"

Kel and Neal both turned.

"_Neal!_"

Owen of Jesslaw ran up and attached himself to Kel's waist, hugging her tightly. "Kel! I can't believe it! Neal did jolly good in finding you and bringing you back to us. You should've seen him, Kel. Neal worried so much about you, you'd think that he was to marry you and not Yuki!"

Kel rolled her eyes and gave Neal a stern Look. "Well. Good thing he found me then, hm?"

"Very good! Jolly to have you back, Kel," Owen grinned at her.

Neal just shook his head and caught Kel's eye. "I'll go and look for Yuki."

"She left," Owen piped up.

Neal blinked rapidly, not quite comprehending what Owen had just told him. "She...left? What do you mean, 'she left', Owen? Where did she go?"

"She went back to the Isles about a week and a half ago," Owen relayed the information. "She said she didn't know when she would come back and told me to tell you, 'should you decide to come back,' that..." he paused. "I forget exactly. I have it written down though; I knew I would forget if I didn't." Owen dug through his pockets as Neal waited impatiently. "Ah! Here!" he held it up triumphantly, then opened it. "'Tell Neal that whenever he decides to show his face again at Court that my father has fallen ill. I don't know when I will return. Also have him write to me. I will expect a prompt apology for leaving me and abandoning guests that traveled many miles to get to Tortall for our wedding.' She sounded angry."

"I would have gotten angry too," Kel agreed, looking at Neal expectantly. Then she smirked. "You had best get to writing that apology then, shouldn't you, Neal?"

Neal sighed. "What should I apologize for, again?"

"Neal!" Kel cried, exasperated. "You know _exactly_ what to apologize for."

"She knew I went after you, Kel," Neal protested. "I don't see why I should apologize."

"Just humor your fiancee, you dolt," Kel hit him on the back of the head as she said so. "Apologize to her and she'll welcome you with open arms. She may even ask you to have the wedding in the Yamani Isles. Wouldn't you like that? You two have planned to get married for so long, why put it off any longer?"

Kel sounded a little too much like she wanted Neal to hurry up and get married. He looked at her, doubt shading his green eyes. He finally shook his head and said, "I want to go see if I can find Lady Alanna."

"She left," Owen piped up again.

"Dom?" Neal wanted to know.

"On duty again," Owen said.

"Merric?" Neal raised an eyebrow.

"Thought he went off with you," Owen drew his eyebrows together in concern. "He _did_ go with you, didn't he?"

Neal nodded. "But he left us for something right before I found Kel. You mean to tell me he hasn't come back to Corus yet? Did he write at all?"

"You'll have to check the post," Owen answered. "He hasn't returned yet. Maybe he tried to find you again?"

Kel felt uncomfortable. She knew exactly where Merric had gotten too, but she wouldn't--no, couldn't tell where he went, or else something horrible would happen to him. Luckily, someone else she knew came down the hallway: Raoul.

"Raoul!" she called, waving.

"Kel!" he called back.

Kel disentangled herself from Owen's arms and ran to Raoul, hugging him tightly. Neal's chest tightened at the sight, and he felt his lips start to press firmly together. His fists balled of their own accord, and his skin felt like it was on fire. He knew this feeling all too well from when he used to fancy the court ladies: jealousy.

_You...moron,_ Neal told himself. _Why do you think you've become jealous of _Raoul_ of all people? He chose Kel as his squire for the love of all things holy. My friend, you've hit an all-time low if you fancy yourself jealous of Raoul._

Owen watched Neal intently. He finally poked Neal's arm when Neal took to wearing a murderous glare. "Neal."

Neal suddenly snapped out of it. "Huh?"

"Intelligent as always," Owen grinned.

"Oh, ha ha." Neal rolled his eyes in irritation. "Well, if Kel should need me so, tell her I have gone off to talk with Roald."

"He--"

"Don't _even_ tell me he left. Let me find out on my own," Neal snapped before letting Owen finish. The younger boy, due to go through his Ordeal in just two months, just shrugged and watch Neal leave to Roald's quarters. Neal muttered darkly to himself as his feet carried him automatically through the hallways of the palace, not pausing in their relentless pace to even say hello to the people who took the time to do so as he passed.

However, when Shinko stepped out of her chambers, she said hello to Neal. He immediately stopped, turned, and bowed to Shinko. "Hello, your Highness."

"Pleasant to finally see you again," she told him, smiling. "I trust you found Kel?"

"I did," Neal nodded. "Do you know where your husband has gotten off too?"

"He has gone riding with Princess Kalasin and his father," Shinko informed him. "They should return in an hour or so. They just wanted to ride around the grounds."

"Thank you," Neal bowed and left, hurrying to the stables. He wanted nothing more than to just get updated on the status of things from Roald before hitting the sack and sleeping till morning. So he mounted the new horse he had bought from the man at the wayhouse--Neal had named it Skunk for the sheer black pitch of its coat and the white stripe down its nose--and took him out for a brisk walk. "Where would Roald, Kalasin, and Jon have gone?" he murmured to himself. "They can't have gotten far; they never ride for more than an hour and a half on the grounds..."

Neal chose a trail and started down on it, knowing Roald preferred this trail over others. Perhaps they had gone down this way? It seemed most likely, and he saw sets of three pairs of hooves in a triangular formation (someone in the lead, two behind, following, who Neal guessed to be Jon and Roald, while Kalasin led), so he continued down the path at a swift pace.

He soon heard Kalasin's laugh and knew they hadn't gone too far ahead. He suddenly wondered if perhaps he shouldn't interrupt the pair's time with their father, but somehow managed to convince himself that he would only take a moment, get what he needed to know from Roald, then head back to his rooms and sleep until tomorrow. As Neal approached, he felt stronger and stronger the need to lie down and sleep. He hadn't eaten very well in the past six weeks and he felt the effects catching up with him. He hadn't slept too terribly well when he and Merric, or he and Kel, slept out doors. It also didn't help that most nights he tossed and turned in bed when they stayed at inns or wayhouses, or he didn't sleep at all, or he had a disturbing, in the sexual way, dream about Kel, which he knew he shouldn't have. During the entire trip he had worried about someone, or two someones, or debated mentally, and now that he had come back to Corus he had hoped that all of this nonsense would stop once he saw Yuki again but now she had gone back to the Yamani Isles to take care of her father and he _couldn't_ see her.

By the time Neal actually reached Roald, Jonathan, and Kalasin, he had tired his heart and his mind out by thinking and fighting his feelings too much. "Ho!" Neal called. "Your Highnesses and Your Majesty!"

"Ho, Neal!" Roald cried out happily. "Did you find Kel?"

"I sure did!" Neal answered, trotting up to the three. Kalasin looked at him and blushed, shyly waving. "Good afternoon, Princess Kalasin."

"G-good afternoon, Sir Neal," she stuttered.

Neal fought off the urge to look at Kalasin as if she had gone mad. He turned to Jonathan. "Good afternoon, Your Majesty."

"Good afternoon, Neal," Jonathan replied.

"Roald," Neal said, looking at the man he had come to speak with in the first place. "May I speak with you privately for a moment?"

Roald nodded. "I'll only be a few minutes, Father, Kalasin," he told them and followed Neal a little way down the path. "What do you want, Neal?"

"Just an update," Neal sighed. "I heard a little bit from Owen, but he didn't elaborate too much as he felt the need to hug Kel until she almost popped."

Roald chuckled. "I see. Well, not much happened while you and Merric went off galivanting around Tortall. Your wedding guests left after the first week. Most of them did, anyway. Wyldon and Owen stayed here on 'official business'--personally I think Owen talked the old goat into staying because he worried so much about Kel. Father assigned Cleon to border patrol and he should arrive tomorrow after his term ends. Yuki went to the Yamani Isles a week ago to tend to her ill father. We had a few scuffles with both Scanran and Bazhir rebels. Seems one or two bands of Bazhir want to combine forces and unite the Scanrans as they had during the war. Domitan and some of the King's Own have gone down to the desert to settle the bitter resentment down there enough to not have a threat of revolt in our own country. Interestingly enough, Kel's family didn't know she had gone missing until I notified them. I can't really think of anything else that happened of any relevance, your and Merric's absence seemed to have brought a little peace and quiet to the court. You would have thought the court ladies would have nearly busted with gossip when they heard both you _and_ Merric had gone after Kel, but...I suppose Shinko and Yuki put a stop to that before it started. Anyway, if I think of anything else, I'll tell you. I really must go back though, Father and Kalasin look like they just might wring my neck if I stay here chatting much longer. See you at supper, Neal."

"Actually, I won't go to supper tonight. You have no idea how much six weeks away from the palace, traipsing around Tortall, wears a man out," Neal confessed. "I'll see you tomorrow morning though. I plan to help the pages and squires with their weapons practices just so I can get back into a normal routine."

"Okay. Tell Kel hello for me if she doesn't want to come to supper," Roald requested, and took off at a canter over to his father and his sister.

* * *

  
Neal returned to his quarters, and as he entered the hallway to his rooms he found someone standing in it. He couldn't quite see who because the visitor took to the shadows. He frowned and said, "Who goes there?"

The person stepped out of the shadows.

Neal didn't recognize the man. He looked somewhat like the Kel, with the same color hair and face shape, but aside from that, he didn't look anything familiar. "Hello?" Neal offered uncertainly.

"Nealan of Queenscove, I presume," the man said.

"Yes sir," Neal confirmed.

"Inness of Mindelan," the man offered his hand.

Neal's eyes instantly lit with recognition. He had never met Kel's brother face-to-face, but he knew about him. Inness had served as Cleon's knight-master after he had become a squire. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Sir Inness."

"'Finally?' You mean Kel has talked about me?" Inness arched an eyebrow as Neal opened the door to his quarters and invited Inness in.

"Well, not particularly," Neal admitted. "Just a word here or there, but Cleon said some wonderful things about you."

Inness chuckled. "No, I don't suppose we met on the Progress for Prince Roald and Princess Shinkokami, did we?"

"No, sir," Neal answered. _Why am I being so police to Inness? He's Kel's brother for Mithros's sake..._

"I came to ask you something," Inness said suddenly, the small smile he wore disappearing. Neal remained silent, waiting for Inness to continue. "Cleon told me that my sister disappeared a couple months ago. He also told me that you had invited him to act as an usher at your wedding. Imagine my surprise when I learn that the wedding got canceled because you went gallivanting off after my sister."

_Gallivating? Why does everyone think my trek was a piece of cake or something?_ Neal wondered.

"Now, I ask you, Neal," Inness plowed forward, his tone overly friendly. Neal felt a brotherly threat coming on, and he didn't like it at all. "Did my sister neglect to invite me to her own wedding?"

Neal's eyes went wide. "No. Not at all. You see, my fiancee--Yuki--she had asked Kel to serve as her maid of honor...I...I didn't plan to marry Kel."

"Do you love my sister?" Inness wanted to know, tearing Neal apart with his eyes.

"W-what kind of love do you m-mean, Sir Inness?" Neal stammered.

"You know what I mean," Inness said flatly, his fingers dancing over the hilt of his sword.

Neal gulped. "Well...I...I have a fiancee..."

"Answer the question," Inness commanded, his hand wrapping around the hilt.

Neal felt himself start to sink to the floor, wishing a hole would open up underneath him. "I-if...If I said yes, would you hurt me?"

"Does she love you back?" Inness loosened his sword from the hilt.

_Mithros, he will kill me..._ Neal thought nervously. _Damn protective older brothers._ "No."

"If you ever force yourself upon my sister, I will not hesitate to make you unable to do so to anyone ever again," Inness threatened. "If you even _attempt_ to do _anything_ to her without her permission, I will hurt you. Badly. Just think lots of pain. Clear?"

"...Crystal," Neal said, opening the door. "I understand perfectly. I'd also appreciate it if you didn't...tell Kel about our little conversation. I'd rather keep my...feelings...to myself."

Inness nodded. "Very well." He left.

Neal watched Inness until he disappeared and shut the door, locking it as well. He shed his clothes and pulled on a night shirt with trembling hands. He didn't shake so much from Inness's warning--though, the man did have a frighteningly overwhelming presence--but from the fact that he had admitted it to himself and Inness that he, indeed, loved Kel as more than a friend. The exact thing he had hoped to ignore and thus not feel. Apparently, the gods had not wanted him to follow that plan of action. Were the gods trying to tell him something through Inness?

_You stupid dolt,_ he berated himself as he sank into his bed. _You just miss Yuki. You think you love Kel only because she happens to have a female body, and you know her. Let's not forget we have male anatomy here. Male anatomy usually likes female anatomy. You don't _love_ Kel other than a sister-like love. Yeah. That's right._

_Don't listen to him,_ his heart piped up. _You _do_ love Kel! That's what I've tried to tell you Merric mentioned it that one night! Finally! It took Kel's older brother to scare you into an admission, didn't it? You finally know that you love Kel! Don't listen to him and his "human anatomy" denial theory._

_Don't listen to him! Listen to your head for once, man! You have a brain for a reason. You. Don't. Love. Kel. Got it? You don't love her! You don't love her _except_ as a _friend_!_ his mind tried to squash his heart's voice, but his heart wouldn't stay silent. It had had enough of just twiddling its proverbial thumbs.  
_  
Now you listen here! Remember what Jeraldine said? _Be selfish_! Be selfish, dammit! I had you to the point where you had resolved to let Yuki go, show some kindness--but _no_! You listened to that gods-forsaken brain of yours! And look where it got you! If you'll just--_

"Shut up!" Neal moaned, covering his ears. He really hated this war going on between his head and his heart, his sensible side and his emotional side. He just wanted to hit his head and go unconcious or something. He didn't know what to listen too. He knew he felt more for Kel than he definitely should have. The worst part about it...he couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't talk to anyone about it, especially since Merric had disappeared. He ran through the list of people he could talk to and came up short: the only person he could even think about talking to happened to be someone he didn't have a particular affinity for, so that ruled Cleon out.

However, as Neal debated who to talk to, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

  
Kel sat in her room, at her desk, pen in hand, parchment on the desk. She used the last rays of sunshine to write the letter she knew she had to write.

'_Master:_

Merric has my map. Either you find the Abscador Scroll again yourself, or you send me my map.

-Keladry'

She folded up the parchment and stuck it in a package. Carefully, she slipped down the hallway and pulled one of the servants aside. The servant, a man with shifty blue eyes and conspicuously dark hair, simply nodded when she handed him the letter.

* * *

"Boo," Neal said quietly, sneaking up behind Kel. She whirled and grabbed his arm, twisting it before she saw his face. "Ow!"

"Oops," she answered apologetically. She offered him a smile. "Sorry?"

Neal shrugged. "No matter. Just try not to make a habit of it, okay?"

"I'll try," Kel promised. "What do you need?"

"Just a little bit o' your lovin'," Neal replied easily.

"Neal," Kel blushed. "Don't say silly things like that."

Neal shrugged again. "I only say the truth."

Kel stuck her tongue out. "Oh yes, Neal. I believe that. Totally. You have me convinced."

Neal swept her into his arms and onto the bed. "Now now. Is that any way to speak to your best friend?"

Kel squirmed as he straddled her waist and pinned her arms above her head, pouting. "I thought we agreed we had gone beyond best friends."

Neal kissed her gently. "Hm, remind me."

"Neal!" she squeaked.

He kissed her again and again, slipping his free hand to the place where her shirt met her breeches, slipping his hand underneath the cloth and tugging it from the waist of her pants.

Suddenly, he was alone. "Dammit," Neal cursed under his breath. He looked up at his dark ceiling, then out the window at the clear sky with so many stars. Neal didn't want to think anymore. "I think...I think I need to tell her..." he murmured to himself suddenly. "I can't...let this go on anymore. It...hurts."

Cane hopped into his window then. She cheeped at him and flew over to his bed.

"Hey there, lovely lady," he said, rubbing her head with his thumb. "I'll bet you had a big day of socializing, hm?"

She chirped. She fluttered outside for a moment and fluttered back in.

Neal frowned. "What's wrong?"

She tugged on his sleeve and fluttered back to the window.

He walked over obediently and looked outside. He could see nothing except the courtyard. "What do you want me to see?"

Cane shrilled angrily and tugged on his sleeve some more.

"Hold on, hold on," Neal tugged on his pants and changed his shirt, deftly pulling his boots on and climbing out the window after Cane. "Did I talk in my sleep or something?"

Cane flew in the signal for yes.

"Did I say something about loving Kel as more than a friend?" he asked.

Cane, yet again, flew in the signal for yes.

"Do you want me to tell Kel?"

She flew in the signal for yes one more time.

"Do you think she feels the same way?"

Cane chirped.

"How comforting."

And suddenly, Neal found himself at Kel's door. Cane pecked the door itself and flew off, leaving Neal to fend for himself. The door opened to reveal Kel in her night clothes.

"Neal?" Kel asked, frowning. "Did something happen?"

"Er..." Neal said uncertainly.

_Now or never!_ his heart urged.

His resolve suddenly became firm. He took a deep breath, looked Kel in the eyes and said:

"Kel, I need to tell you something."


	8. Perhaps Fate: Part 2

**Perhaps Fate (Part 2)**

Kel just stared at Neal, not quite comprehending. Neal felt a little awkward just standing there and shifted on his feet. She continued to stare at him until finally he repeated what he had said moments ago.

"I...I need to tell you something, Kel."

She frowned this time. "Did you hear from Yuki? Did something happen to Yuki's father? Or did something happen to Merric?"

Neal shook his head. "No. It concerns me. It concerns you and me, no one else. Just me...and just you. Can I come in?"

"Certainly." She didn't sound certain at all, Neal noticed. He could imagine her mind going in a thousand different directions, trying to guess at what he had in mind. Unless she had heard him say something about loving her in his sleep, she would have no idea what he had suddenly resolved to tell her.

Well, what he _would_ tell her, if he could manage to vibrate his vocal cords around his heart, which decided it would like to take up residence in his throat. He found it funny how his heart could still thump louder and quicker than it had in his chest while living in his throat, and how he could hear his heartbeat louder in his ears. Or could he hear his pulse? Maybe he heard both, but either way, they both beat faster. Neal rubbed his hands together and stuck them in his pockets, stepping through the door. He turned to speak to her, to find that she still gazed down the hallway with the door open.

"Kel?" he croaked. "Kel, over here, lo--"

"Inness!" Kel cried.

Neal suddenly felt cold as all the color, and blood, drained from his face. Inness. Why did Inness have to show up _now_ of all times?! Maybe the gods tried to tell Neal something by this too. Maybe he was just a fool. Maybe the gods hated him. Or maybe Inness had spied on him. Quite frankly, he wouldn't put it past Kel's older brother to spy on the man that admitted to having fallen in love with his younger sister, but nonetheless had promised not to lay a hand on her without her consent. Neal didn't fancy himself an untrustworthy man, and he didn't fancy his appearance untrustworthy either. Perhaps Inness had just happened along. Perhaps Inness had intended upon visiting his younger sister at this hour of night on her first day back just because he was daft like that.

Neal suddenly felt the urge to take his anger out on something.

He could also see how Inness may have wanted to drop by and check up on Kel, who had undoubtedly gotten badgered to death by her friends at supper. Neal, of course, had no idea what time it was, just that the stars had decided to show themselves, meaning it could be anywhere from six-thirty in the evening to four o'clock in the morning. The birds had either risen already or hadn't gone to sleep yet, so that left a two and a half hour window in the evening, and any time in the morning. Also, Neal couldn't blame Inness for stalking him, if that assumption had some ring of truth to it. He would suspect someone too, especially since Inness had threatened no uncertain death on Neal. Maybe Neal had just cracked under the pressure--he had, certainly, cracked under the pressure--and intended not to follow through with his promise--something Neal did not intend to do. He intended to follow through with the promise. All he had wanted to do tonight was let Kel know how he felt about her and receive her valuable input.

"Oh hells," Neal muttered. "If Inness finds me in here..."

He could hear Inness approaching. He could hear Kel and Inness talk and laugh, and he heard Kel tell him not to hit her anymore or she'd have to hit back.

"Damnation..." Neal cursed. His eyes flew to the slightly open windows. Chilly September air only served to warm his colder body, and Neal edged over to the window silently. They had come closer while he had stared at the window forever. With a decidedly stupid idea, Neal jumped out the window, rolling on his shoulder, scrambling up, and leaning against the wall outside Kel's window. He stood in the shadows so Inness wouldn't see him in a casual glance outside.

Neal felt like the scum of the earth for eavesdropping, but he had to tell Kel tonight what he felt, elsewise he would never tell her. He would never tell her, and he would lose his chance with her forever. A nonexistant chance in reality, but Neal had deluded himself into believing he may actually have a chance at winning her heart--if only Inness would leave them alone for five bloody minutes!

In any case, Neal had occupied himself so well with fuming silently at Inness and building a grudge at Kel's older brother that he forgot to pay attention to their conversation until he heard his name.

"...Neal," Inness had just finished saying.

"Neal? My goodness, Inness--has battle made you lose your mind? I think you've finally gone mad without Cleon to take care of you," Kel replied.

Neal found himself entirely clueless of exactly what Inness had said about him, except Kel found it preposterous. Neal wondered what Inness had said, especially if he had something about his feelings for her. If he did, he would turn Inness's threat back on him and kill Inness with his bare hands. Either that or he would mope. Moping sounded safer but bringing Inness's death with his own hands sounded much more fulfilling. In all honesty, if Inness _had_ said something and Kel thought Inness had lost his mind, then Neal would probably head back to his quarters and mope and figure out inventive ways of maiming Inness so that he would wish Neal had killed him. Then he would go straight back to acting the same way about Kel until he finally dragged up enough courage and the nerve to tell Kel how he felt unless Yuki had arrived beforehand.

_Shit,_ Neal cursed mentally, no longer paying attention to Inness and Kel's conversation. _I need to write that damned apology letter. But I suppose I could use it to tell her about the way I feel...no, I owe her more than that. I owe it to her to at LEAST tell her to her face that I...or is that cruel?_

As he debated this, Kel and Inness continued to talk. In fact, Neal debated telling Yuki he didn't love her anymore in the letter to telling Yuki to her face for so long that Inness left and Kel stood at her window saying Neal's name before he finally decided that telling Yuki in the letter had a certain appeal of kindness to it that telling her to her face didn't.

"Neal!" Kel finally had had enough of his insolence and hit him over the head. "You loon, get back in here! It's the middle of September, it's cold out there, and you're standing on the bloody lawn like it's the middle of July."

Neal finally realized what had progressed and he sighed. His resolve and courage had crumbled away while he thought about revenge on Inness and which way to tell Yuki that he didn't love her. However, he did climb back into Kel's bedroom and stood awkwardly in the middle of the floor.

"So. What did you want to tell me so badly that it couldn't wait until morning?" Kel inquired.

"Nothing important," Neal waved it off. Kel started to protest but Neal silenced her. "It can wait. It really wasn't that important. It can wait." Every time he said it could wait he felt more and more of his resolve to tell her crumble away. "I think I had gone temporarily mad for a second, Kel. Not enough sleep and too much unhealthy food. You should go to sleep."

Kel looked at him as if he truly had gone mad and shook her head, shrugging as she did so. "If you say so, Neal. I will see you in the morning. You'll come for breakfast, won't you? Everyone missed you at supper."

Neal nodded. "Goodnight Kel."

She hugged him. "Goodnight, Neal."

He kissed her forehead and ducked out of her room, hurrying down the palace hallways to his rooms, where he promptly shed his shoes, pants, and shirt, pulled on the night shirt he had discarded earlier, and sank into bed. Just sleeping.

* * *

Neal felt somewhat refreshed when he joined Kel, Owen, and Seaver for breakfast. He couldn't help but notice that Owen and Seaver had left the space across from Kel open for him, and he sighed. Their knees always touched under the table, now that he thought back. He always said something about it when he couldn't stand the contact any longer, but they couldn't exactly sit so that neither touched the other. Unless, of course, the positioned their legs so each of them had one knee between the others. They managed not to touch so much that way.

"Good morning Owen, Seaver, Kel," Neal greeted them, nodding to each one in turn.

"Good morning, Meathead," Seaver answered.

"Jolly good morning, Meathead," Owen added.

"Mornin', Meathead." Kel looked up at him, taking a bite out of her roll and grinning at him with closed lips.

"I take back my good morning," Neal retorted, beginning to chow down on the breakfast Kel had piled up for him. He noticed that her penchant for making him eat his fruits and vegetables still stayed strong, as she had grabbed an apple and a handful of strawberries for him and set them on the plate. Neal learned long ago not to fight Kel when it came to eating fruits and vegetables.

"Owen," Kel said, turning her attention from Neal and his emerald green eyes to the squire from Jesslaw. "Will you stay at the palace until your Ordeal?"

"I sure hope so," Owen lamented. "I don't think my lord Wyldon will make me go back to the border with him. I think I'd have more time to prepare and concentrate here than up there, with not a thing interesting to do."

"Ah, such is the fate of a knight of Tortall," Seaver added whimsically. "I wouldn't put it past Wyldon to assign you to New Hope or some duty up on the Scanran border."

"Hey, Cleon comes back from border patrol today, doesn't he?" Owen said excitedly. "Hey Kel, did you hear? Cleon will come back today from border patrol!"

Kel smiled. "Wonderful!"

Neal fended off the jealousy he felt at the mention of Cleon's name and quickly took a large bite out of the buttered roll set in front of him. He remained relatively silent throughout the morning breakfast. As soon as he finished, he excused himself.

"Neal? Where are you going?" Kel asked him as he started off.

"To the infirmary to see my father," Neal answered. He could talk to his father about this whole mess _and_ get work done at the same time. At least, he hoped things would proceed that way.

It seemed Neal had finished eating before his father did, as he arrived at the infirmary to find it empty. Neal, taking the initiative, let himself into the infirmary and opened the shutters, letting the sunlight in. He watered the small plants Duke Baird kept around to keep things cheerful and straightened up the supplies, removing the ones that had cleaned overnight and placing ones that had yet to clean in a solution his father had come up with.

Neal made the infirmary beds and had just finished straightening up his father's desk when Duke Baird entered the facility. Needless to say, the older man almost keeled over at the sight of his son actually doing something productive.

"Good morning, Father," Neal said.

"...What do you want from me this time?" Duke Baird asked skeptically.

"Nothing!" Neal said defensively. "Goodness, Father--can't I clean up the infirmary to start the day and actually want to help you out after six weeks of unproductiveness?"

Duke Baird regarded his son suspciously before finally deciding Neal had good intentions. "All right. I warn you though, we still don't have many patients unless someone falls ill."

At the mention of falling ill, Neal felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. "While we don't have anyone to tend to, can I ask your advice on something?"

Duke Baird nodded. _I knew he wanted something._ "Yes, you may."

Neal took a deep breath. "What do I do about Yuki?"

This took Duke Baird by surprise. "What do you mean, what do you do about Yuki? She only left the country for a little while, son. You waited for nearly a year for you, you can wait a few more weeks."

Neal shook his head. "No. You see...I...I don't...I don't think I love Yuki anymore."

"Are you certain?" Duke Baird asked doubtfully. "Have you mistaken this for pre-wedding nervousness?"

"Yes, I'm certain, and no, this goes beyond pre-wedding nervousness," Neal sighed. "I fell in love with someone else while I rescued Kel."

Duke Baird's jaw dropped. "You fell in love with Merric?!"

Neal's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "_No_!"

"Oh," Duke Baird settled down. "Well, who then?"

"IreallythinkforcertainthatitsKel," he said quickly.

"You fell in love with Kel," Duke Baird reiterated. "Well, son, you've certainly put yourself between a rock and a hard place. A month and a half ago you had thought to marry Yuki, Kel's best friend, but now you love Kel, who's your best friend?"

Neal nodded miserably. "I have no idea what to do."

Duke Baird sat on the edge of his desk, as Neal had taken up residence in his chair. He thought for a moment, looked at his son, and finally heaved a heavy sigh. "Neal, would you like to know a secret?"

Neal looked up at his father. "...If you want to tell it."

"I went through the same thing before I married your mother," Duke Baird said quietly, rising from the desk and walking over to the window. He watched the sun sparkle off of some saddles as a couple of the older knights trotted by.

"You did?" Neal asked incredulously.

Duke Baird nodded. "I had fallen in love with a lovely woman from Goldenlake--Lord Raoul's cousin, actually. She and I had set a date to marry after courting for a year and a half. However, your mother showed up. My then-betrothed's best friend. I became fascinated with her, and eventually she and I fell in love. I kept putting the wedding off and off until finally she confronted me. I told her then that I had fallen in love with someone else, and she tried to hex me." Duke Baird chuckled as Neal continued to stare, disbelievingly, at his father. "Then she calmed down and asked me who I had forsaken her for, and when I told her, she told me to hurry up and tell your mother that I loved her. The only way I would find happiness was to tell her." He paused and walked back to the desk, sitting on the edge again. "And look where we are today."

The gears in Neal's head had turned during Duke Baird's entire story. He absently noted that Duke Baird had never shared this story with him, then he noticed the advice his father had given him. "You want me to tell Kel how I feel?"

Duke Baird nodded. "As for Yuki, I think you should tell her before she confronts you."

"That brings up another problem," Neal said. "How do I tell her? To her face or in a letter?"

"I think you need to decide that for yourself, Neal," Duke Baird advised.

"But--" Neal started, but seeing the stern glint in his father's eyes he stopped and buried his face in his hands.

"Duke Baird! Duke Baird! Your Grace!" cried a young voice, running into the infirmary. A small boy, blond with a round face and panicked green eyes, stood in front of them. He couldn't have been more than a first year or a second year page, Neal guessed. "Your Grace, come quick--Banicker of Justicecreek broke his leg in the stable!"

Duke Baird rose and told the little boy to calm down. He then turned to Neal and asked, "Could I trouble you to mind the infirmary while I tend to young Justicecreek?"

"I'll stay," Neal promised. The little blond boy looked as if he might jump out of his skin and possess Duke Baird just to get the older healer moving. "I think you had best go to him, Father."

Duke Baird nodded and followed the blond boy out to the stables after grabbing a bag of supplies.

Neal sat in deafening silence, the only sounds coming from the rustling leaves, the birds, a few dogs, and some older knights who rode their horses. Suddenly deciding he needed to write a letter to Yuki, he pulled a piece of parchment out of his father's stack and inked his pen.

"Dear Yuki," he murmured to himself, writing down. "I would like to apologize to your for leaving you the week of our wedding in such a hurry. I know I told you, but looking back, I had acted quite irrationally. I know now the reason why," he paused. He set the pen on the inkwell, not wanting to write anything else until he planned it aloud. "I have fallen in love with Kel. At the time I hadn't realized it, but as these last six weeks have progressed, I find that my feelings have a certain ring of truth." Neal rolled those words around in his mind for a few minutes before writing them down. "I'm sorry, Yuki. Had I understood my fickle emotions earlier, perhaps I could have spared you the pain. You see, Yuki, I see a lot of Kel in you. I think I've been in love with Kel for a long time, and loving you gave me an excuse to love part of Kel and not love Kel at the same time. I'm sorry, again." Neal signed the letter and re-read it.

"I can't send this to her," Neal mumbled, balling up the letter and throwing it carelessly out the window as a little dark-headed boy with dark eyes limped into the infirmary.

He looked at Neal, confusion apparent in his eyes. "Where did Duke Baird go?"

"He had to go see to an emergency," Neal answered. "I'm his son, though. A healer. Name's Sir Neal. How can I help you?"

Wordlessly, he held out his hand. His index finger bent almost flat on the back of his hand.

"What happened?" Neal asked, leading him over to one of the beds and helping him sit on it.

"I fell down, sir," he answered.

Neal raised an eyebrow. "We've said that since before I came to Corus as a page," he commented, taking the boy's hand and making it numb. He slowly set it back in place and split it, filtering magic in to start the healing of it. "According to my father, they said it when _he_ was a page."

"No, sir, I truly fell down," the boy said earnestly. "I didn't fight. If I had fought you'd have two of us in here to take care of. I fell down after I tripped over someone's book in the library."

Neal nodded, accepting the boy's story. It truly did look as if he had only fallen down. "All right, off with you."

He hopped off of the bed and took off for the door.

"No running! You want to break an arm too?" Neal called after him.

The boy came back in. "By the way, sir, my given name is Jamesan of Tridelta, but everyone calls me James."

"Go to your classes, James," Neal shooed him off. James took off and once more Neal yelled at him to quite running. However, when James slowed, he nearly plowed into someone coming around the corner.

"You ought to listen to Sir Neal," she said. "He may look funny and sound like an idiot half the time, but he has sensible advice."

"Sorry, Lady Kel," James apologized and once more took off to his classes.

Neal ducked back into the infirmary. His heart thumped loudly and tried to take up residence in his throat again, but Neal busied himself with something else--like making a note to his father that Jamesan of Tridelta had come in with a broken finger so he had set it.

"Well well well," Kel said, leaning against the door. Neal forced himself not to look up at her. "I think I may die of shock. Neal of Queenscove actually doing work voluntarily? I didn't think you meant you wanted to help out your father seriously."

"I'm just full of surprises, Kel, you should know that by now," Neal replied.

"Forgive my absent-mindedness," Kel told him teasingly, walking over and sitting on the corner of the desk.

_Oh hell..._ Neal fought the panic that rose in his chest. Goodness, he had never felt this way with Yuki! _But Yuki...wasn't your best friend._

"Neal?" Kel asked, concerned. She tilted her head to the side, her short locks brushing across her cheek and neck, then floating onto her shoulder, where they rested. She reached out and touched his shoulder, to find Neal jerk away.

"Gods..." Neal breathed. He hurried over to a cabinet and pretended to search for something. _She only touched me...and...my skin felt like it had caught on fire! She didn't even touch me directly, either. Through my shirt only. Mithros..._

"Neal, you look as if you've seen a ghost," Kel commented. "And you won't talk to me. Say something, even if you only say 'hello.'"

"Hello," he croaked. His voice sounded like sandpaper, even in his own ears.

Kel looked around and noticed that no one waited in the infirmary, suddenly remembering Neal had come to her in a frenzy, a steely look in his bright green eyes, and a resolve almost tangible to tell her something. "What did you want to tell me last night?"

"Uh..." he said ingeniously, freezing in his position, arms up on the top shelf of the cabinet, rummaging through a box. _Second chance! Second chance! Go for it, Queenscove!_ his heart yelled. _Neal, Neal, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!_

He slid the box from the cabinet and set it on the bed behind him. He finally looked up at Kel, cheeks flushing. His heart continued to goad him on in different ways, alternately feeding his ego and insulting it. Needless to say, it worked.

"Neal?" Kel prompted.

"Well," he began, walking over to her. He took one of her hands and led her over to one of the infirmary beds. "You may want to sit down." She took his advice, settling comfortably in her spot. "Well, Kel, you see...while I wa--"

"Goddess! It's Kel!" said an overly cheery voice.

"Cleon!" Kel cried. She gave Neal an apologetic smile and hopped off of the bed, rushing over to the infirmary door and hugging her old boyfriend. "Long time no see! Owen told us you had gone on border patrol?"

Cleon nodded. "Yeah, King Jon assigned me on the Scanran border patrol, unfortunately. Had a few scuffles up there." At Kel's concerned expression, he shook his head. "I, for one, am unhurt, thank the Gods. Couple of my comrades got pretty cut up though."

Neal mocked Cleon's grating voice in his head. He didn't know exactly when he had started finding Cleon somewhat more irritating than he had during their page years, but it really affected him now.

"That's great!" Kel told him, hugging him again. "I just got back to Corus yesterday myself. And look, here's Neal!"

Neal cringed. "Yes, here's Neal," he said sarcastically, loud enough for Cleon to hear. He looked up at Cleon and pasted a fake grin on his face. "Hey there, Cleon old boy. How goes the home life?"

Cleon had married his arranged fiancee a little more than four months ago, at the palace. That had been the last time he had seen Kel before she had gone missing. "Wonderfully! Thank you for asking. And you, how fares the lovely Lady Yukimi?"

"Gee, I wouldn't know," Neal answered draftily. "Seeming how she went back to the Yamani Isles a week and a half ago, according to Owen. Can't imagine she's having too much of a good time, seeing as how she needs to tend to her father."

Kel rolled her eyes. "Don't mind Neal. He turned into a bitter old man between yesterday afternoon and this morning."

_No. I don't like Cleon. I don't like him even more now that he interrupted my confession,_ Neal seethed silently. The gods must be rolling in their realm laughing at his blundering attempts to tell Kel how he felt.

Or, perhaps it was fate that he couldn't seem to get Kel alone long enough to tell her. He wanted to tell her suavely, not blurt out "I love you" to her! He didn't want to look like more of a fool than she already considered him.

"Hm, well, just dropped by to say hello to the both of you. 'Specially you, my dove," Cleon ruffled Kel's hair as Neal's blood boiled in his veins. He had to look away so he wouldn't run over and strangle Cleon. "Farewell, friends of mine. I'll catch up with you at lunch, right?"

"Surely," Kel agreed enthusiastically. Oh, that made Neal angry. She had just shown Cleon more affection than she had shown Neal the entire two weeks and two days--not that he had counted, of course--he had spent with her. He had half a mind to kiss her right there just to see if she would show him any emotion at all. He would, too, if he hadn't convinced himself completely that Inness spied on his every move. Kel turned on Neal and opened her mouth to ask him to tell her again what he wanted to say, but Duke Baird returned then. "Good morning, your Grace."

"Good morning, Kel," Duke Baird answered. He and a third year squire carried in young Banicker of Justicecreek on a stretcher. "Thank you, Garriss," he told the squire, nodding. The squire bowed and ran off to find his knight master and Neal took the other end of the stretcher. "Over here," Duke Baird led Neal over to the bed at the far end of the infirmary. "Kel, help us out."

Kel trotted over and helped get the young page with the broken leg out of the stretcher. She helped Neal set up a sling from the ceiling to hold the leg elevated. She noticed who he went out of his way to prevent their hands from touching and frowned.

"Neal, can I talk to you a moment?" Duke Baird requested.

"Coming," Neal answered, leaving Kel to stare at him oddly. She sighed and waited for him to finish conversing with his father. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Still have to obey him, despite the fact I'm a full-grown man."

"As you should," Kel nodded. They stood in awkward silent for a moment. She fiddled with her fingers nervously, looking to the floor, to the wall, anywhere but Neal. Then she realized what she was doing and looked straight up at him. And now, Kel felt it appropriate to turn tail and run before she had time to let herself grow attached to her best friend like she had as a page. "I..."

Neal looked up at her with those sparkling green eyes and she had to force herself to leave. As she excused herself, she had to tell herself she had just imagined that kicked puppy look in his eyes and headed out to the training field.

"You really love Kel, don't you?" Duke Baird murmured to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Neal just nodded miserably and buried his face in his hands.

* * *

Kel practiced her hand-to-hand combat in the training room, finding the fields too crowded for her liking, especially in her out-of-practice shape. In fact, she thought she did so horribly that she would mar her name if anyone saw her. Why did Neal make her so nervous earlier?

"His eyes," Kel said to herself, now falling back on her muscle memory. She felt so out of shape...

She kicked the dummy and managed to barely duck in time as the arms came swinging around.

"His eyes looked...strange," Kel decided, punching and ducking. "Almost...almost...I don't know what they looked like..."

She had never seen Neal turn such an intense gaze on anyone, not even Yuki. She recalled their glittering depths, clearly conveying...something...to her. Maybe it had to do with what he wanted to tell her but kept getting interrupted for?

"He jumped away from me," Kel remembered as she continued to routinely pummel that dummy. "When I touched his shoulder...I wonder if he got hurt there while he flayed Gherash and Udaan?" she murmured. "He doesn't seem too upset that Yuki left...what doesn't he want people to know but he wants to tell me? What did he mean by 'it only concerns you and me?' I don't understand..."

And suddenly, Kel placed the emotion she saw in his eyes: longing.

--"It only concerns you and me. Just me...and just you."--

--"I saw you in the skirt yesterday and a few days ago. You looked quite appealing."--

--He jumped away from her when she touched his shoulder.--

--He went out of his way not to let their hands touch.--

Kel kicked the dummy and froze as a revelation struck her, much as the dummy's arms just had. Had Neal fallen in love with her?!

"Goddess," Kel breathed, on her stomach. She lied flat on the floor, her back aching where the dummy had collided with her. "He...? He can't. He loves her...not me..."

She didn't know whether her eyes watered from the pain in her back or the revelation she had just arrived at.

"Dammit, Neal..."

"Kel?"

Kel jumped up and smacked her head on the dummy's arm, falling on her hands and knees. She gingerly raised a hand to touch the spot on the back of her head. It came back wet, sticky, and red. "Who is it?"

"Fancy meeting you here, of all places," the person walked over and helped her up. "You seem to be bleeding from the back of your head."

"How observant of you, Cleon," she snapped.

"I think we should get you back to the infirmary and get you all patched up before you bleed to death," Cleon answered.

"I'm fine," she told him, gritting her teeth.

"You look fine," Cleon replied, sarcasm twinging his voice. "Come on, let's get to the infirmary."

"Stop it! Cleon, I can take care of myself!"

"I believe you."

"Cleon!"

He didn't seem to want to listen though, as he half dragged the protesting female knight into the palace infirmary, now crawling with palace healers in their respective rooms. "Neal!" Cleon called. The knight appeared instantly. "Here you go." He escorted Kel into his bewildered arms. "Heal her. I have to go now. Bye!"

Neal blinked rapidly. He had no idea what, exactly, had just transpired. However, he did realize that Kel carefully didn't look him in the eyes and he also noticed that she had started bleeding on the back of her head. "Come on," he murmured, leading her over to one of the beds. "Sit while I grab some things." He quickly walked over to a box of gauze and grabbed a bottle of cleansing potion. He hurried back over to Kel to make sure she hadn't left in the state she was in. "This might sting a little..."

Kel closed her eyes as Neal's gentle hands cleaned the small wound on the back of her head with the cleansing potion and guaze. "That smells horrible. Will my hair smell like that for the rest of the day?"

"Most likely," Neal replied truthfully. "But you won't bleed all over the place."

Kel couldn't help but laugh at this for some reason. "How true."

Neal quickly healed the small cut. "Well, you can go now."

Kel nodded, but she didn't move to leave. She did, however, swing her feet around so she faced him and looked up at him. There. She saw it again. That disturbingly clear...longing. And suddenly, she had the urge to kiss him.

The two of them remained there, staring at one another, imagining just how it would feel if their lips met. Neal's heart pounded rapidly in his chest, and he thought for sure that Kel could hear it, and he wished vehemently that it would stop its relentless marathon and resume normal pace. He didn't realize it until he could feel her breath on his cheek that they had leaned towards each other.

"Ahem!"

They sprang apart.

"If you don't mind, Neal," Duke Baird said. "I need you to go help out Zerah with a feisty patient."

Neal nodded somberly, glanced at Kel, blushed, and went off to help Zerah with her feisty patient. Duke Baird just looked at Kel with a mixture of knowing and expectant expressions that she flushed and left the infirmary. Kel walked on shaky legs down the hallway, her thoughts jumbled, and she finally leaned against the wall and sank into a sitting position around the corner.

"What the hell was that..." she wondered aloud. She held her hands out in front of her and watched them tremble for a moment before hugging her long, slender legs to her chest. She replayed the scene in her head, and realized exactly what had just transpired. "I...we...almost...oh gods..."

She buried her hands in her hair, resting her forehead on her knees. She fought off tears as she realized at that display of affection they almost had that the Master would take Neal next, if she failed to save Merric. "Oh gods...Neal..." she squeezed her eyes shut. "Why do you have to be so bloody feelings-oriented? Why couldn't you just stay angry with me?" she cried quietly. "Don't you understand..."

* * *

Neal walked with his father to the mess hall as the midday bell tolled. He hadn't seen Kel since their almost-incident earlier. He didn't know if he could face her after it anyway. He would find out now, wouldn't he? Desperate to distract himself, he told his father, "I want to go out and practice with the pages and squires after midday, so I won't come back to the infirmary afterward. I may return after supper though."

Duke Baird shook his head. "I don't want you to wear yourself out, Neal. I don't need you to come back to the infirmary after supper. We have plenty of healers. Besides, wouldn't you like to spend some time with your friends?"

_Not really,_ Neal thought numbly. _Not if it means I may have another...encounter like earlier with Kel._ "I guess," Neal replied enigmatically.

Duke Baird fell silent then, entering the mess hall with his son. He joined the palace staff at their table while Neal joined his friends at their usual spots. However, instead of sitting across from Kel today, Owen decided he wanted to sit across from her and Seaver wanted to sit next to him, leaving Neal the seat next to her. Cleon sat on her left, forcing Neal to sit on her right.

"Hullo," Neal said sullenly, sinking into his seat and piling his plate with food. As the vegetables came around, instead of taking some, he passed it right onto Kel, who put some on her plate and some on Neal's.

"Hullo yourself," Kel said testily. "You need your vegetables, Neal. You've been helping your father heal everyone since breakfast."

"Oh hush," Neal answered. He picked at his food, staring at it rather than looking to Kel. He couldn't seem to engage in conversation with Seaver, or with Owen, or Kel, and especially not Cleon. Neal still couldn't come to a rational reason for his hostility, but he figured he might as well run with it rather than fight it.

"Neal," Owen piped up. "You don't look so well. Do you think maybe you overdid it at the infirmary?"

"I feel fine," Neal protested. "Really. I feel so fine that I'm going to train with the squires and the pages after midday."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Seaver added. "You look kind of..."

"Pasty?" Kel offered.

Seaver nodded. "That would be the correct word I was looking for."

Neal felt like wringing necks. "I'll have all three of you know that no matter what you say, I feel fine, despite your opinion of what I look like. You'll have to allow me a few days to get my coloring back to what it was prior to my escapade to find Kel. I feel just great, not tired at all. Do you understand now?"

Neal wolfed down the rest of his meal without waiting for an answer and left the table with everyone in a stunned silence.

"Way to go," Cleon finally spoke up.

"Shut up, Cleon," the other three chorused.

Cleon went back to his meal.


	9. The Mistake

**The Mistake**

Neal didn't seem to handle stress very well. He felt like hitting someone all day, and when that pressure came to its peak, well...it wasn't pretty. Neal had managed to control the stress and his temper the rest of the day, training having gotten his mind off of most of it and reading after supper, alone and in his rooms. However, the morning following brought a dream in which he had almost engaged in the act of procreation with Kel. That stressed him at first. Then, he had had to cope with Kel in a bad mood, Owen pouting because no one would hold a good conversation with him, and Cleon prodding him in the back and whispering to him about Kel.

Afterward he had gone to the infirmary to help out his father again, only to get turned away after three hours of service. He hadn't known what to do with himself, so he had gone out to the training yard to find that it had rained while he had helped out in the infirmary. He couldn't train properly in mud, especially as out of practice as he thought himself to have gotten. So he turned tail and went to the practice gym to spar with anyone there. He found himself alone, as everyone in their right mind had either gone to the library, gone to the stables, gone into the city, or had used this opportunity to nap. Pages sat in class and probably snoozed or paid attention, depending on whatever class they sat in.

Neal decided he wanted to act foolishly and pummel the dummy Kel had cracked her head open on the day before. He hadn't gotten far when he realized that this type of training didn't seem to aide him in any way, so he walked off to try and do something productive. He couldn't think of anything that didn't involve going back to the infirmary and begging for Duke Baird to let him help, so he trod back to his rooms. He would read a book or something, he had decided. Maybe he would take a nap. But no. Every time he drifted off to sleep, it would start to rain, or Cane would come wake him up, or he would have a dream about Kel that startled him awake. This seemed to stress Neal out even further, so he decided to write an apology letter to Yuki again.

He wrote four of them, each saying the same thing in different ways, and decided neither of them expressed what he wanted to say without sounding harsh, cruel, nonchalant, rude, or indifferent. He wanted his letter to express sincerest regret without sounding phony and he wanted it to sound kind and logical. He wrote a fifth letter that sounded crueler and harsher than the rest of them, and threw all five of them into his fireplace. So when midday rolled around, Neal felt just about ready to tear his hair out. Presently, he snapped at all four of his companions, resulting in Kel snapping back at him. They had a little spat that grew into a medium spat that almost grew into a full-out argument, had Roald not walked over and suggested Kel escort herself from the mess in his regal tone. She followed his command, and Neal had to bite his tongue not to yell at Roald for talking to her in that tone of voice.

At this point, Neal refused to apologize to Kel. He had apologized to her in their last fight--he didn't count her coming into his room and apologizing while he "slept" because she didn't tell him to his face, whereas Neal had approached her and apologized--and he wanted Kel to come to him. However, the afternoon progress onward and Kel still didn't come back. So Neal went back to the practice gym and found her there, sparring with the dummy. He picked up one of the staffs hanging on the wall and went through drills with it, watching Kel out of the corner of his eye. She didn't even seem to notice he had entered the room, let alone stood not twenty feet away from her. This only served to stress Neal further, so after an hour of practice drills with the staff and his sword, he left the gym with Kel still sparring with the dummy.

He wandered aimlessly about the palace until he found Cleon, who decided he would say something ignorant, crude, and teasing about Neal and Kel.

This served as Neal's breaking point.

Rather than Neal simply walking away, he pulled back his arm and punched Cleon in the nose.

"Ow!" Cleon yelled. "You bastard! I was only teasing you!"

"Have I mentioned I don't like to get teased?" Neal asked, eerily calm as he proceeded to pummel the taller knight. Cleon, somewhere near the middle of the fight, seemed to realize what had happened. He began to fight back then, ultimately resulting in Neal having a broken arm and a black eye. Cleon, however, fared far worse: two black eyes, a most likely broken bloodied nose, a split lip, a broken thumb, and a broken wrist.

On the bright side, Neal felt much less stressed.

* * *

  
Later that afternoon, approximately an hour later, Cleon and Neal both sat in a conference room with Jonathan. For the first ten minutes or so, they all sat in silence. Jonathan just glared at them, thinking of what to tell them and what he should do about them. Neal, however, felt somewhat bad about all the damage he had done to Cleon. Cleon just wanted to get back to trying to win the fight, which had only stopped because Neal's arm had popped in two places and he could no longer use it.

"Who won?" Jonathan finally asked.

"Me, your Majesty," Neal answered quietly.

Jonathan looked at Cleon, then turned to Neal. "Yes, I suppose you did. Surprisingly so. Had the fight gone on, would Kennan have won?"

"Most likely, sir," Neal confessed. "He could still use both of his arms by the time mine broke."

Cleon seethed silently at Neal, his thumb, wrist, and nose throbbing painfully. His black eyes had faded somewhat under Duke Baird's careful hands, but he still couldn't see exactly clearly. He decided, however, to keep quiet unless Jon spoke directly to him and let Neal's mouth run away with him.

"How did this happen?" Jon wanted to know. Neal closed his eyes and tried to figure out a way to answer that question without sounding ludicrously pert. Maybe Cleon would speak up, but Neal doubted it. The king of Tortall watched them expectantly, hoping to get an answer out of them without forcing it. Finally, he clasped his hands together on top of the desk and tried again. "Well?"

"He insulted my honor, and Mindelan's honor as well," Neal admitted, deathly quiet. "I realize that doesn't excuse what I've done."

Jonathan sighed. "Well. I'll neglect to ask exactly what passed because, quite frankly, while I care I find that knowing details will just serve to anger me. The only thing I'll tell you is this: go back to the infirmary, both of you. Heal. I'll decide what to do with you two disruptive knights when you can physically handle it."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Neal and Cleon said in unison. Neal hauled himself from his chair, carefully holding his pulsingly painful arm so Cleon wouldn't hit him with his large, hulking mass. Cleon, however, had another agenda in mind. He "accidentally" jostled Neal as he left the room, silently avenging his bruised ego. Neal winced, training his fiery green gaze upon the flame-headed brute shortly after.

"Kennan!" Jonathan barked. Neal looked at the king, surprised at the display of anger that he had promised later.

_It does seem to be later,_ Neal thought wryly, his mouth twisting into a smirk as he edged past Cleon, who had just returned. Cleon wore an innocent expression on his face, and Neal left him to fend for himself as he walked back to the infirmary.

* * *

  
Neal had just lied himself down in the bed his father had assigned him too and slept the moment he came back. Walking without jarring his arm had proven quite a task, and despite how carefully he stepped he managed to move it. He had also made his bones numb in that arm about halfway to the infirmary, and that took quite a lot of energy. So he had flopped into bed.

He hadn't slept long because every time he got comfortable and into a somewhat deep sleep, he would do something to disturb his arm and jerk awake. So eventually he gave up on trying to sleep too deeply and had taken to resting his eyes. He didn't realize how much time had passed until the bell for supper rang, setting off Neal's internal clock. His stomach growled angrily at him, to which Neal just patted it awkwardly with his left arm, "Okay, okay, stomach. Calm down. We'll get you fed well soon. I hope."

Neal didn't even consider eating the health-concious food that the healers insisted upon everyone consuming. He hoped and maybe even prayed a little that perhaps Kel, Owen, Seaver, or even Roald would bring him a plate of food from supper, or something. His stomach wouldn't let him go without food for much longer, and the bland-tasting, cardboard-like healer's food had started to look appetizing.

"Food..." he moaned. He hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning.

Suddenly, something fell on his lep. He blinked at it, recognizing it as a plate from the mess hall, and someone had thought enough of him to pile some of supper on it for him. He looked up and had greedily started to thank whoever had brought it, finding himself looking straight into a pair of deep green-hazel eyes, and Neal found himself floundering. "Thanks..." he breathed.

Kel grunted. "I know you usually eat more," she told him gruffly, "but they wouldn't let me out of the mess with anymore than that." She sat on the edge of the bed and fiddled with the blankets. "Couldn't tell them I brought it out for you either, your father would have pitched a fit."

Neal managed a chuckle. "I don't doubt it. If I hadn't--"

"Why did you fight with Cleon?" Kel asked suddenly, her eyes suddenly much more extreme than they had seemed two minutes ago.

Neal paused with his vegetables halfway in his mouth. He slowly lowered the bottom half back onto his plate and swallowed what he had in his mouth. He covered one of her hands with his free one, drawing her attention away from his face. "He accused me of sleeping with you behind Yuki's back. 'Taking advantage of my fiancee's inherent absence,' he said. He--" Neal stopped. "Well, that's all he said, really."

Kel looked back up at Neal, noticing his gaze had dropped to their hands as well. She reached up with her other hand and tapped underneath his chin with her index finger. She pretended not to notice the way his cheeks turned pink when she touched him. "What else did he say?"

"Nothing, Kel," Neal lied. "Really. Just something about my mother and father that I had to avenge."

Kel studied him for a moment, his cheeks growing to a light red as she did, and decided he had told her the truth. She noticed how cold her hand felt when Neal took his back, though, and that scared her. Since when had she cared whether or not Neal touched her? Well, since her page years, that is. Really, had she ever grown out of that? Or had she only deluded herself? Thinking back, Kel realized that she had liked Cleon because he flattered her and liked her for who she truly was; like Neal did. She liked Dom because he had the same sense of humor that Neal did. She had liked men with different facets of Neal's personality after she had supposedly talked herself out of the crush, or whatever it was.

She couldn't possibly...

"Thank you again," Neal said quietly. He had cleaned his plate while she had wrapped herself in her thoughts. "I would have starved if you hadn't thought of me."

"I always think of you," Kel blurted out before she realized the thought had even formed. Her cheeks colored and she looked at the floor, not noticing that Neal's had done the same. They stayed that way for a few moments, before Kel finally broke the silence, drawing her body entirely up on the bed by taking her shoes off and hugging her knees to her chest. She looked at the blankets or his hands or the wall or the table next to him. She said, "I'm sorry."

"For saying you always think of me?" Neal asked.

"That and the fact that I've ignored you for the past day and a half," she continued softly. "I'm sorry I pissed you off at midday yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't apologize until just now. I meant to apologize earlier, I just kept getting side-tracked." She felt the tears coming on again. Everything and almost everyone had been ripped away by the Master. And now that she had apologized to Neal, she showed that she cared about him, and he became another potential target for the Master to use against her. "I'm sorry, Neal. I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry, Kel," Neal told her. She had buried her face in her knees, and he could see her shoulders tremble ever so slightly every few seconds. He frowned, took her gently by the elbow and pulled her closer. He stroked her hair, "Kel," he murmured. "Kel," he said, just as softly, his voice enticing like a warm fire on a cold winter's night. She raised her head slowly, looking at him with puffy, red-rimmed eyes. "Mithros," he breathed. He cupped the side of her face, his eyes full of concern and that damned longing and all the love he should of felt for Yuki but felt for Kel instead. He gently wiped away some of her tears with his thumb. "Did I make you cry?"

"No," she answered, leaning unconsciously onto his hand. "No, Neal. You...you would never make me cry."

It took all of Neal's willpower not to kiss her right there, their faces so close already they could feel the other's breath caressing their cheeks. Kel tilted her head up, angled to capture Neal's lips as they began their agonizingly slow descent.

"Neal..." she murmured, leaning a little forward herself.

They both jerked to look for the source of the crashing noise they heard outside. "What the hell?" Neal voiced their thoughts.

"I'll go look," Kel offered, scrambling from the bed and running out of the infirmary, leaving her boots sitting on the floor next to Neal's bed. A little way down the hallway, the dark haired servant who had taken Kel's letter to the master had found himself shoved rather rudely into a suit of armor standing against the wall. She ran down the hallway, footsteps muffled and nearly silent without her shoes. As she came closer, she heard voices.

"...right _now_," the attacker commanded.

"I-I don't know!" the servant wailed. He whimpered pitifully.

"Take me to her. _Now_, you insolent, foolish knave!" the attacker demanded, kicking the servant in the leg.

"I d-don't know where s-she went to," the servant cried. He began to mutter a fervent prayer.

"Don't pray, you fool," the attacker hissed. "Tell me where you saw her last."

"She w-w-was in the m-mess hall," the sevant told him, cowering. "I s-swear, Master G-Garvey, t-that's all I know!"

"Garvey!" Kel yelled suddenly. The attacker looked up, his hood falling off to reveal the face of Garvey of Runnerspring. "Garvey, leave the poor man alone. He obviously doesn't know anything."

"Ah, Kel," Garvey's mouth curved up in a sadistic smile developed only through killing and enjoying the pained and tortured look on his victims' faces as they died. "Just the lady knight I wanted to see."

"What do you want," she asked flatly. "I haven't got much free time on my hands, you see, Garvey. I actually happen to *serve* the realm of Tortall--"

Garvey laughed the sick and twisted laugh that only came from having a smile such as the one he had. "Have you honestly deluded yourself into believing that by serving Our Great Lord and Master you actually serve Tortall? My, my, my. Well, if the incentive works. You have one month, two weeks, and five days, by the way, Kel. If you don't find our Scroll by then, it's lights out for Sir Hollyrose. You wouldn't want that, would you, Kel?"

Kel neglected to answer his question. "What do you want, Garvey?"

"Here," Garvey replied nonchalantly. He handed her a rolled up piece of parchment. "Find the Scroll, then find me. I'll be around. All you need to do is look."

Garvey turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, shimmering and finally disappearing completely. Kel knew that he either still walked down the hallway or had stopped to see what Kel would do after he had cloaked himself, so Kel helped the dark haired servant to his feet. He scrambled away from her and ran down the hallway the opposite direction of Garvey, and Kel stood in silence for a moment.

"Garvey."

"Yes?" he answered, his voice sounding hollow and bouncing off of the walls.

"Go away. Leave me to my privacy. If I need you, I'll find you," she snapped. She heard his footsteps retreat further down the hallway and heard him turn around the corner. Kel ran back to the infirmary, but by the time she came back, Neal had fallen asleep and Duke Baird had returned from his supper.

* * *

  
"Neal..." Kel sighed, cuddling up to him.

"Kel," Neal murmured, kissing the top of her head. He slid his arm snugly around her waist--he couldn't stop amusing himself with the fact that he had never noticed how perfectly his arm came around to settle on her hips. They sat against the wall on his bed in his quarters, content to just sit with each other. "I love you. You know that?"

"And I you," she answered, trailing small butterfly kisses up his neck and jaw.

Neal turned his head and caught her lips with his, finding himself on all fours above her and she lied back. She grinned mischievously up at him, her hands dancing from the nape of his neck, down his chest, and to the hem of his shirt, and Neal found himself without a shirt. Kel made an appreciative noise at Neal's broad expanse of chest, and trailed a pattern on it. She decided she rather liked kissing him rather than drawing invisible patterns on his chest, so she slipped her hands around to the back of Neal's neck, pulling his head down to kiss her again.

Neal couldn't quite figure out how, but soon his pants, Kel's shirt, and Kel's breeches joined his shirt on the floor.

He fingered the edges of her breastband, tracing the curve of her breasts under the material, and took to trailing his fingers lightly down her flat, smooth belly.

"You are exquisite," Neal whispered, burying his other hand in her hair and pressing bruising kisses to her mouth.

Neal woke up and groaned. Another dream...and on top of that: his arm hurt. Badly.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaa..." Neal whined, sounding like Daine. "Daaaaaaaaa..."

The faint beginnings of sunlight had just begun to filter their way into the room. The sky still seemed gray and fuzzy, pink and the faintest shade of orange shaded the edges of the horizon. "Father!" Neal called again. He heard no answer. "Hello, healer people! Patient in pain here!"

No one answered.

Neal grumbled, hauling himself out of bed--careful not to jar his arm too much--and made his way over to the medicinal potions cabinet. His fingers skimmed the bottles lightly, reading the labels on them; the words would look foreign to one who didn't practice healing. He found the pain medication he had wanted and grabbed it from the shelf, then looked for the potion used to sped bone growth and grabbed that from the shelf as well. Taking the bottles by the necks near their caps, he hurried over to the cups used to administer the potions. He measured out dosages for himself, grumbling about fathers who didn't keep an eye on their sons, and quickly downed both of the potions. Within moments, Neal felt the pain calm to a dull ache, and he could feel the bones start to grow, however minuscule. Quite an odd sensation, he mused. He had never used the potion on himself, but while working at New Hope he had used it for a man who had gotten every bone from his humerus to his carpals magicked away in his left arm.

Neal just hoped his father's potion would work as well as Neal's had. He also hoped it didn't work faster, or else Neal would have a very large bone in a couple days.

* * *

  
"Good morning, Meathead!"

Neal had watched the sun rise over the closed shutters in the window and hadn't noticed when Kel entered the infirmary. Now he did, though, as she set a plate of breakfast on his lap. "Good morning, Lady Knight." He looked at the food on his plate and grinned. "I see you managed to sneak out with more this time. A fellow could get very used to this."

"Quiet," ordered Kel. She grabbed a piece of sausage off of the plate and bit into it. "I didn't eat because the only way I could sneak out enough food for you was to tell them that I planned on eating in my room. I told them I felt particularly tired today and would like to eat in my room so I could have some peace."

Neal frowned at her. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Lied?" Kel asked, taking another piece of sausage and noticing that Neal hadn't eaten anything yet.

He shook his head. "Skipped breakfast."

"It won't kill me, Neal," Kel rolled her eyes. "I bear the title 'Lady Knight' you know, and that didn't just happen to plop down in my lap one day."

"But look at you," Neal argued. He reached out and grabbed her small waist. "You lost so much weight since I saw you last..."

Kel shifted, trying to get him to let go of her without prying his hand off. "I'll eat, Neal! Seriously, why do you think I brought so much?"

Neal, rather than answering, made room on the plate of cardboard-tasting food and plucked a few pieces of food from it. He set the rest in front of her. "Eat."

Kel's face twisted into a sort of half-grimace, half-scowl and she demanded, "Do you always have to act so stubborn?!" She grabbed a few pieces of food from the original plate and dropped it onto Neal's. "You need to eat more than I do."

"I'm not sick, Kel," Neal retorted. "And yes, I need to be stubborn." He took the food she had forced onto his plate and returned it to hers.

"Insufferable," Kel growled at him, neglecting to form the rest of her sentence as she put the food back on his plate.

"Willful," Neal shot back. He once again deposited the pilferred food onto her plate.

"Pig-headed," she accused. She wouldn't let him win their fight over the food.

"Scoundrel," he informed her.

"Brat!" she reminded him.

"Shut up," he commanded.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Fine. Make me."

Neal leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

Kel froze and looked at him with wide eyes when he pulled away. It had been the lightest, barest grazing of their lips. _So why do my lips feel like they've caught on fire?_ Kel wondered dazedly. She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes.

"Kel?" Neal whispered. He felt an incredibly sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach, something he didn't like. She looked...pained. "Kel...?"

She didn't look up at him as she stood up. She muttered something about the library and meeting someone there, bade Neal farewell briefly, and took off.

Neal buried his face in his hand. He didn't notice that Kel had abandoned her plate on his bed, just that he had made a horrible mistake.

* * *

  
Domitan of Masbolle, known most around the palace at Corus as Dom, rode onto the familiar grounds at close to two o'clock that afternoon. He had just ridden up from the incredibly warm desert to the chilly city, and he had news to report to Raoul. Nothing much, he just had to come up on the monthly report. They had decided to report in the third week of every month, and...well, Dom had arrived a little earlier than expected, but he hadn't know what the trip back would have gone like. He normally didn't go down to the desert, and because of that, he hadn't known how long the trip would take.

He pulled onto the King's Own's grounds, hopping off of his horse and leading it to their stables. One of the hostlers took his horse and Dom left, walking towards Raoul's office. As he entered, he wondered if his cousin had found Kel yet...

"Dom," Raoul said, startled. "You...came early."

"Almost," Dom agreed. "Technically it's the third week of September because the month started on this day three weeks ago."

Raoul rolled his eyes. "Well, what have you to say?"

"Firstly, so I don't worry the entire conversation--did Neal find Kel?" he asked outright.

"Yes, and right now she has gone out to the fields to help the pages train," Raoul replied. "Seems a bit distracted, but she'll get her act together soon."

Dom nodded, sighing with relief. He sank into the chair in front of Raoul's desk and told his commander of the proceedings in the desert with the Bazhir. Apparently, they had gotten ahold of some sort of scroll and wouldn't let a soul touch it unless they belonged to the specific tribe. They did, however, seem to want to sell it on the black market, and apparently everyone and their brother involved with the dark arts had tried to pay them more than the asking price: even double or triple. One bidder in particular had tried to pay them much, much more than the asking price. He called himself the Master Wizard, and offered the Bazhir tribe six times the asking price.

The Bazhir had begrudgingly begun to consider his proposal.

Raoul listened stoically and finally nodded in satisfaction at the end of the report. "Thanks. Why don't you go catch up with your cousin and Kel? Neal's landed himself in the infirmary with a broken arm and black eye, if you care to go visit him."

Dom refrained from laughing. "Right. Thanks, Commander."

Raoul just nodded and waved Dom off.

He rushed off to the infirmary first to check on his cousin. He knew that Neal had most likely gotten himself into a fight, but he wanted to know who the poor soul was that decided to mess with Neal. Dom entered the infirmary to find Neal snoozing, a half eaten plate of food from the palace mess set on the table next to him.

"Hey, Sir Meathead," Dom said loudly, tapping his cousin on the uninjured arm.

"Kel..." Neal murmured softly in his sleep, so quiet that Dom had had to strain to hear it.

"Oh, dreaming about our fair lady Kel, are we?" Dom surmised. "Wake up, Meathead." He knocked him on the head.

"Ow!" Neal jerked awake. He glared at Dom angrily and told him something rude.

"Now, is that any way to greet your cousin?" Dom teased.

"What do you want?" Neal asked irritably. "I had just gotten to sleep--"

"Dreaming about Kel?" Dom inquired, smirking. He saw his cousin's cheeks flush. "Thought as much. Anyway, see you hauled off and got your arm broken. Raoul said you had a black eye, but that seems to have vanished like the rest of your head. What happened?"

"None of your business," Neal grumbled.

"Touchy this afternoon," Dom guessed. "Well, I'll just go ask Kel then..."

"Do what you want," Neal mumbled. "I want to sleep."

"All right, all right," Dom conceded. "I'll come back later though, after supper. If you don't have plans."

Neal made a rude gesture at Dom and glared until the sergeant left the infirmary. Dom whistled congenially as he made his way out to the page practice fields, spotting Kel a mile off because of her height compared to the others on the fields. He waved when she looked up, and she waved back uncertainly, hurrying back to helping a page with his staff technique.

He approached the fields and helped the page opposite of the one Kel had decided to help. They improved their fight greatly, but soon began to lose their balance. Kel sighed and rubbed her temples, looking up at Dom. She blushed, seeing too much of Neal in his face for her liking. _Especially_ after what had transpired that morning. "What do you want, Dom?"

"...Did something happen with you and Neal?" he asked, concerned. "He snapped at me and now you seem to not want to talk to me. You didn't even say 'hello.'"

Kel sighed. "Sorry. Hello, Dom. What do you want?"

"A conversation. Do you think you can leave the pages alone and let their instructor do her job?" he asked innocently.

Kel glanced at the pages, at the instructor, then at Dom. She yawned and told him to wait there while she told the instructor that she had tired out--because she had, her yawn testament of that. She came back to where Dom waited for her and followed him into the palace, drying her forehead off with a towel. "So. Where have you gotten off to?"

"I came here to report to Raoul what was happening in the south," he answered, jamming his hands into his pockets.

"Oh? Why did you go south?" Kel wanted to know.

"Bazhir rebel upheavals," Dom explained. "Apparently, they've gotten ahold of some scroll and are trying to sell it on the black market. Strange happenings. I'll bet that scroll thing is powerful though, seems everyone and their mothers want to get it from them."

Kel stiffened. She had no doubt that the Master had found out about it and had already placed the largest bid on it. "Really?"

Dom nodded enthusiastically. "I got a look at it, even though they didn't want anyone to see it. It's in a purple tube with a red cap."

The Abscador Scroll.

So the Bazhir had gotten hold of it?

Interesting...

"Ah!" Dom said suddenly, rubbing at his eye.

"Dom?" Kel frowned. "What happened?"

"I think something flew in my eye..." he cursed.

"Let me see," Kel pulled his hand away from his eye and peered at him. "I don't see an--"

Dom kissed her.

* * *

  
Neal felt bad. He felt bad for calling Kel names that morning and kissing her, and he felt bad about snapping at his cousin. So he had managed to pull on a clean pair of breeches and most of a shirt, then sneaked out of the infirmary. He knew that Dom couldn't have gotten far, seeing as Kel's rooms were all the way across the palace from the infirmary, and as far as he knew she had gone to her rooms after midday and had stayed there.

However, Neal rounded the corner after the entrance to the palace coming off of the practice fields and saw something quite disturbing.

His cousin and his best friend, who he had hoped to some day be something more, stood in the hallway, making out.

Heartbroken, Neal retreated to the infirmary.


	10. Possession

**Possession**

Dom had enjoyed kissing Kel until she pushed him away and looked up at him as if he had betrayed her. He didn't like the look and lowered his head, not particularly wanting to see what he saw. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Kel just looked away and discreetly wiped her mouth off. "Don't let it happen again," she told him gruffly. "Please."

Dom nodded. He looked up at her again and could not help thinking about kissing her again. He mentally went over the possible consequences if he once more did what she had told him not to do and decided the worst she could let herself do to him was either break a bone or kick him between the legs. Neither prospect seemed particularly appealing, but he just couldn't help risking it.

As Dom trapped her in between his arms against the wall, she decided she should just give in and kiss him back. Neal loved Yuki, not her; the kiss had been a fluke. Dom was nice enough, he appreciated her, and apparently felt something deeper than friendship for her. He had also come after her to help her when she went after Blayce during the Scanran War.

_So did Neal,_ a voice in the back of her mind reminded her.

She squashed that voice and told herself that Dom was better for her. He didn't have a fiancee, and he looked enough like Neal that she could trick her feelings into developing for Dom again. She just didn't feel the same fire from his lips as from Neal's though, and she stood in the hallway with him, kissing him for much longer than she had kissed Neal.

Dom finally released her, his breath warm on her face, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright. "Don't let it happen again, hm?" he repeated, resting his forehead on hers. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that..."

_I think I'm going to be sick,_ Kel thought dazedly. She felt like she had just kissed her brother, or her father. It made her queasy. "Yeah..." she muttered, voice unreadable.

"Well," Dom said. "I need to go change my clothes. I'll meet you...at the palace mess hall for supper?"

"How romantic," Kel replied wryly. "I'll meet you at the mess for supper though."

She would learn to love Dom. She would _make_ herself learn to love Dom, because she couldn't feel that way towards Neal. This mess seemed so reversed: she should have felt like she had kissed her brother when she kissed Neal, not Dom. But she hadn't. As she watched Dom leave the hallway, she felt her stomach roll.

"This sucks."

* * *

Neal stared blankly at the ceiling above his bed. He would be out of the infirmary in a day or two. Between his healing powers, his father's healing powers, and the potion he had taken that morning, his arm had mended at abnormal speeds. Duke Baird gave him funny looks for most of the day.

Neal didn't care. He just wanted to be left alone. Dimly, he remembered that he hadn't eaten midday, and also that he still hadn't written Yuki a letter explaining his situation. Which had just grown worse. Should he just marry Yuki and forget about Kel, no matter how much that hurt? Or should he tell Yuki to get lost and mope through the rest of his life alone? He didn't know for certain, but he felt pretty strongly that the kind of love he felt was the forever kind. It left his heart feeling as bleak as the desert Dom had just come back from.

The image of her kissing Dom so fervently seemed burned into his mind. He couldn't dismiss it; he wouldn't stop thinking about it. His mind wanted to show his heart what happened when he let himself think he loved Kel and not Yuki. And it hurt.

Neal stared blankly at the wall.

_You knew this would happen,_ his mind told him. _Do you see why I told you to listen to me?_

_You shut up,_ his heart snapped. _She loves you. You know she does. You know she felt that...that...spark when you kissed her earlier! Don't give up..._

"I hate this," Neal said flatly, his voice monotone.

"Hate what?" Cleon asked nasally from the doorway.

"You," Neal answered.

"I'm flattered you would think about me in bed," Cleon told him. "But I know that you truly don't. So, come, come. What bothers you, friend?"

"Go away. Take your 'friend' business to someone you truly mean it for," Neal informed Cleon. He felt he would probably remain in the position he had flopped onto the bed in forever and not care.

Cleon had never seen Neal so low. Not even when Kel hadn't shown up for the wedding. That all seemed so long ago. "Neal. We had a fight, sure, but that doesn't mean I want to stop our friendship."

"I do. What part of punching you in the nose did you not understand?" Neal retorted lifelessly.

"Neal--"

"Go away."

"Would you talk to me? You and I have had a good friendship for a long time. I would really hate for it to end over something as silly as a fist-fight," Cleon pleaded.

"Leave. Me. Alone. I punched you in the nose for a reason. I broke your wrist and thumb for a reason. Gee, can you guess what that reason was?" Neal asked, bitterly sarcastic.

Cleon sighed. "Fine. I can help you get her, though."

"Get who."

"Kel."

"Go away."

Cleon turned to leave but paused when Neal spoke again.

"She wants my cousin anyway. And I have Yuki."

Cleon shrugged. "As you wish, Sir Healer."

Neal heard Cleon retreat to his bed and groaned. He hated feeling so helpless, especially to his cousin. To the one who teasingly called him "Sir Meathead" all the time. He had lost Kel to his cousin. Someone much older than her. Dom had practically taken her from the cradle!

"Cradle-robber," he growled. "I can't stay in here and mope forever. Yuki should come back soon, I have to have a good arm so I can hug her and welcome her home and..." he trailed off, pouring his magic into his arm. He could feel it mending. It had almost completely mended anyway by the time he set to work on it, so Neal removed the bandage from it and began to move it stiffly. He hadn't lost use of it for long, but his muscles felt sore from its lack of use for a day or so.

Neal rose from the bed and went to find his father, who had gone into the next room and spoke with a healer in there. Duke Baird looked up briefly at his son, who waved to him with his previously broken arm, and rolled his eyes. He waved Neal off, knowing that his son had cheated to get his arm healed. Had Neal followed his orders and not gotten into his potions, Neal would still lie in bed moaning about his arm.

So Neal walked out of the infirmary, rubbing his stiff arm. Staying in the same position for a day or so would make anyone's arm stiff, and Neal did his best to swing it and flex it as much as he could as he walked down the hallway with a determined gait, suddenly having a confidence he didn't have in his weakened state. He didn't know what he had confidence for, just that all of a sudden he had it.

"Neal!"

Neal froze at the familiar voice. He turned and saw the familiar face of his fiancee. His heart didn't surge like it normally did, and he cursed his heart in three different languages for it. "Yuki!"

Yuki ran to him and hugged him tightly. "When did you get back?"

"Day before yesterday," Neal answered with false cheeriness, hugging her back. "Or something like that. Sorry, I haven't had a moment to write to you."

"Oh, I don't care. I wouldn't have gotten the letter anyway," Yuki dismissed it. "Oh, Neal. I've missed you so much."

Neal felt his stomach plunge to his feet and settle there, heavily weighed down by the pit inside of it. "Right," he agreed. He kissed her soundly on the mouth, hoping to inspire at least some of the magic he had felt with her before he had rushed off like a fool to rescue She Who Shall Not Be Named. He felt...nothing, though. Nothing at all. "You must be starving?"

Yuki shook her head. "No, not really. I ate on the ship."

"Oh." Neal took her hand in his and walked down the hallway with her. "You must want to get some rest though?"

Yuki giggled. "Neal, Neal, Neal. Still as much of a mother hen as always."

Neal laughed nervously. "Right, right. I really should stop doing that. Can't help worrying about people I care about though."

Kel popped into his head. He pushed the image of her and Dom kissing out of his mind and turned back to Yuki. "Did your father recover?"

"Yes." Yuki nodded, smiling. "He made quite a miraculous recovery, so my lady asked me to return to Corus."

"Of course," Neal replied. He neglected to mention Kel because of the feelings she stirred in him, but Yuki apparently had other plans. How did she not notice the way his palms seemed to sweat so much? How did she not notice the way he scanned the area around them every twenty seconds for signs of Kel and Dom?

"Where's Kel?" Yuki asked innocently.

"Don't know," he told her gruffly. "Somewhere around the palace, I'd guess. Not like I watch her every second of every day."

_Oh, smooth. Way to go, Mr. Suave. That's not suspicious at all._

Yuki looked at him as if he had gone mad, then laughed uneasily. "Well, I do feel a little hungry."

Neal looked out the window in the hallway and inspected the fading sunlight. "Well, the supper bell should ring shortly."

Just as the words left Neal's mouth, the bell tolled, sounding the call for supper. He took Yuki's hand again and led her to mess hall, knowing she wanted to see Kel, and would let her see her best friend. He couldn't help the dread from freezing the blood in his veins though as they approached the mess hall and saw Kel and Dom, Kel on his arm.

"Kel!" Yuki called, waving. She had moved her arm to latch around Neal's. "Kel, over here!"

"Yuki!" Kel cried. She saw Neal, faltered, but recovered quickly and led Dom over. "Yuki, hello! When did you get back?"

"Just this afternoon, a little while ago," Yuki answered. She looked at Dom and smiled knowingly at Kel. "And who is this handsome man?"

"My cousin, Domitan of Masbolle," Neal told her stiffly. Dom looked at Neal and saw something terrible in the knight's eyes that almost frightened him. He knew...he had seen Dom kissing Kel...and he looked about ready to rip Dom's mouth from his head and feed it to the dogs.

Kel nodded, carefully not looking at Neal. She felt guilty, and she could see the hostility with which he looked at Dom. She didn't want to see that gaze turned on her. "He's a sergeant in the King's Own. We met when Raoul chose me as his squire."

"I see," Yuki nodded. "Where will we eat tonight, Neal?"

"Wherever you want to eat," Neal told her offhandedly.

"Oh! Let's all eat together!" Yuki enthused, looking at Kel eagerly. "Shall we? I think it'll be great fun. It will give me a chance to catch up with what has happened since I left, too!"

Kel looked uneasily up at Dom, who just shrugged and smiled; then she looked to Neal, who had looked over at the wall in an attempt to seem aloof. She smiled and nodded. "Let's."

* * *

They had all decided to get food from the mess hall and take it to Yuki's quarters off of Shinkokami's. The seating arrangement had gone like this: at the square table, Neal sat on the bottom right, next to Yuki who sat on the bottom left. Dom sat across from Yuki at the upper left, and Kel sat across from Neal at the upper right. It made Neal uneasy to sit so close to Kel, and apparently made her uneasy too; Yuki and Dom carried out most of the conversation, trading stories of desert for stories of the Islands.

Finally, Yuki couldn't stand her fiancee's and her best friend's silence any longer. "What has gotten into you two? You've barely looked at each other all evening, and you've hardly spoken two words!"

Dom added his two cents, "Kel, are you angry at Neal for getting into a fight with that Cleon boy?"

Kel looked up at Dom. "I was. I'm not anymore."

Yuki looked at Neal. "Why did I not know of this?"

"You see, that letter that never got written..." Neal tried to explain.

"Cleon broke his arm," Dom interrupted.

"Shut up, Dom, I don't need you to tell *my* fiancee what happened to _me_ while I can tell her myself," Neal snapped.

"Neal, don't talk to him that way," Kel reprimanded.

Neal shot her a dirty look and turned back to Yuki. "Cleon insinuated that I had slept with Kel while you had gone to the Islands to take care of your father, so in order to defend our honor..."

"Oh you just wanted a fight, Meathead," Dom teased.

"Leave him alone," Yuki commanded.

"Yuki, Dom only teased him," Kel argued quietly.

"Dom doesn't need to tease him," Yuki replied calmly.

"Yuki, I can speak for myself," he said softly to her.

"I can't defend you as your fiancee?" Yuki asked. "I thought I had certain rights to do so."

"It's just--" Neal wanted to say.

"His ego got bruised," Kel explained offhandedly.

"It did not!" Neal argued.

"Did so," she answered.

"Maybe you had better leave it be," Dom advised Kel.

"Well I had to tell Yuki what happened! He acts so stubborn--" suddenly she stopped and blushed lightly. She had reminded herself of that morning, and now Neal looked slightly taken aback. "He would have never told her had I not."

"Kel, I swear to Mithros--" Neal started.

"Oh, go throw yourself into Lake Naxen," she told him rudely.

Neal's eyes flashed angrily, the most emotion he had shown all night. He hadn't realized it until then that he had raised out of his seat quite a bit, so he settled back down and rigidly ate his food. The meal continued in awkward, tension-filled silence. Neal spelled obscene words at Kel with his food, who spelled equally as obscene words at him with her food. After a few minutes of doing this, they both suddenly burst out laughing.

This startled Dom so much he nearly fell out of his chair, and it startled Yuki so much that she dropped her fork onto her plate with a loud clang. Neal had spelled the word "harlot" on his plate facing her, and she had spelled the word "bastard" facing him. Dom and Yuki saw this, looked at each other as if Kel and Neal had gone mad, and wondered why they had done such a thing.

By then, Neal and Kel had stopped laughing as loudly and as much, but they both still brimmed with short laughs. "We're idiots," Neal announced to Kel.

"I agree," she replied, a laugh bubbling out of her mouth.

Fortunately, both Dom and Yuki missed the way that Kel and Neal looked at each other. They also missed the small glances they snuck at each other for the rest of the meal. When Dom and Kel both had finished eating, they bade Neal and Yuki farewell and left the Yamani lady's quarters.

"Why did you and Kel suddenly start laughing?" Yuki wanted to know.

"Because we had acted stupidly," Neal answered evasively. "She and I have had a lot of trouble in our friendship lately, but I think we fixed it tonight."

"I see," Yuki said. She disappeared for a moment into her closet and emerged in a silk sleeping kimono. Neal had taken a seat on a comfortable chair in her bedroom, so Yuki sat herself down on his lap. Automatically, his arm encircled her waist and she snuggled closer. "Have I told you that I missed you terribly?"

"I think so," Neal replied. Yuki tilted her head back and down, kissing him.

"I don't think I can wait until our wedding night for this," she murmured.

Neal still felt nothing when he kissed Yuki now. No spark, no surge of his heart, nothing like the liquid fire the simple brushing of his and Kel's lips had produced. Maybe if he slept with Yuki...?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Let's do it."

Somehow their clothes wound up on the floor. Neal didn't pay much attention to how it happened after he carried her onto the bed. He also didn't realize that during his ministrations, he had addressed Yuki as "Kel".

Yuki, however, did notice.

"What?" Yuki asked, sitting up and pushing him off of her.

"Huh?" Neal responded, clueless.

"What did you just call me?" Yuki demanded.

"I called you--Yuki," he frowned. "Why would you think I called you anything else?"

"Because you called me 'Kel,'" Yuki glared. "You called me my best friend's name! Neal, how could you?!"

"I didn't--" Neal floundered. He didn't remember calling Yuki by Kel's name! She definitely must have heard wrong...

However, Yuki had already collected his clothes and shoved them at him. "Go."

Flabbergasted, Neal stared at Yuki. "What?" he asked stupidly. "Why--?"

"You _called me 'Kel!'_" she yelled at him. "Get your clothes on and leave, Neal!"

Still unsure of the entire situation, Neal pulled his clothes on and left Yuki's rooms. He really should have told her about Kel, he mused as he walked down the hallway. He felt somewhat light, but he also felt incredible guilt at calling his fiancee by the name of the woman he truly loved.

Truly loved.

_Well,_ Neal thought as he entered his quarters. _I truly do love Kel. There. I thought it. I love Kel. That doesn't seem so bad. But...poor Yuki. What do I do about her? I think I need to tell her the truth...I'll let her cool off for a few days though, and then I'll tell her._

Neal was in a better mood than he had been in _days_.

* * *

Neal felt something heavy land on his back. "Whoa! What the hell?!"

"Neal, that's not a very nice way to greet me," Kel whispered in his ear.

Neal couldn't help but grin. "I suppose you speak the truth." She slid off his back and he whirled, capturing her in his arms and kissing her deeply. "Hello, gorgeous."

Kel giggled. "That makes up for it."

"I hoped so," he grinned and kissed her again, feeling her hands exploring his back underneath his shirt shortly after. Soon, she had tugged his shirt off of his torso, and Neal had pulled her shirt from her.

Their clothes ended up on the floor shortly before they did. Neal paid no attention to the their surroundings as he nipped at Kel's neck and shoulder. She shivered and moaned, "Gods..."

He laughed, a low, seductive, possessive sound. He kissed her mouth again, trailing kisses down her jaw and neck afterward. He fingered her breastband carefully, caressing the sensitive skin just below it. She reached and clasped the back of his neck, drawing his mouth to hers for another scorching kiss. In moments, Neal had removed the cloth from Kel and set to work on her breasts.

Neal woke up sweating. "Gods," he murmured. "That...was nice..."

And he fell back asleep, trying to have another one of those dreams.

* * *

Neal woke up that morning feeling refreshed. He knew he wasn't out of the woods yet, but he felt close enough that he could see the break in the trees. After telling Yuki how he felt--which he hoped to accomplish as soon as possible--he would have time to slowly drive a wedge between Kel and Dom, and eventually have her for his own. Yes, life felt good. The gods had smiled upon him last night, and they kept on smiling on him this morning.

"Good morning, friends of mine!" he said cheerily, sitting next to Kel and across from Owen. "Where did Seaver go off to?"

"Came down with some weird flu," Owen replied. "Your father has refused to let anyone see him--put him in isolation, he did."

"Strange," Neal murmured. He worried for Seaver, his curiosity piqued because of his instincts to heal. "I think I'll talk Father into letting me see him after lunch. I may identify what he has, having seen more than I should have at New Hope..."

Kel panicked. "No! No, Neal, you shouldn't. Your father wouldn't have put him in isolation if he didn't think what Seaver had was contagious."

"Everything's contagious," Neal told her. "And besides, I hardly ever get sick because my body kills any germs that might hinder my normal body functions."

Kel just shook her head. "I don't think you should go in there."

"I'll be fi--"

"Neal!"

Someone ran into the mess hall. "Roald?" Neal asked, his brow scrunching in confusion.

"Neal, come quick!" Roald ran over, grabbing his friend by the arm roughly.

"What happened?" Neal wanted to know, stumbling to his feet and running along side the prince.

"Your father collapsed!"

Neal skidded to a halt in front of the infirmary and let the words sink in. "Shit!" he cried, running into the infirmary and to the isolation room. His father lie crumpled on the floor in front of the door. "Father!" he yelled, worry making his voice thick. He carefully straightened out his father's elderly body, looking frantically for any signs of life. "Father..." he said, quieter. His hands fumbled for the groove in Duke Baird's neck where the carotid artery pumped. Tears burned the back of Neal's eyes. "No," he murmured. "No! Father...you can't...no..."

But there. His pulse fluttered erratically in the healer's veins, hardly easy for Neal to detect. But it was there. "Merciful Mother," Neal said to himself. "Come on, Father, don't give out on me now," he murmured, pouring his Gift into Duke Baird's old body. "Please. Please, stay with me."

Duke Baird's pulse pumped faster, still growing weaker, trying to resist Neal's magic. "Father, no, you can't go!" Neal struggled to make the old man's pulse resume normal pace. "You can't. It's not your time. Goddess...Father...no. Come on! Come on, dammit!"

Roald stood by helplessly. His mind had gone blank except for one thing: Duke Baird had grown very old. He had served as chief healer when his father had been a page. Maybe the Black God had come to collect him now.

"Father!" Neal cried. He placed a hand over the healer's heart, the beat that should have been steady growing weaker and weaker. Duke Baird's pulse sped up, trying to pump the fresh blood to the vital organs in his body. "No, please! Dammit, stay!"

"Neal!" Roald grabbed Neal's arms and wrestled him away. "Stop it!"

"I have to help him! Let go, Roald!" he struggled, kicking and jabbing and trying to twist.

"He's dying, Neal! If you try to save him, you'll get sucked under too!" Roald reprimanded him.

"Let me go! Roald!" he managed to duck out of the prince's grasp and he rushed to his father, who had begun to stir. Neal checked his pulse again; it had become slightly stronger. "Father?"

Duke Baird made an incoherent noise.

"Father!" Neal cried. He dredged up the last of his reserves and tried to funnel it into Duke Baird. However, he felt the magic begin to get tugged out of him by force, making him weak. He stopped the flow and stared at his father. Roald had told him the truth. "Father..."

Duke Baird looked at Neal. His voice strained, he said, "Neal, I love you. Tell your mother that I love her too. I should go now...I'm tired...just want to close my eyes..."

Neal felt the tears spill onto his cheeks. "I love you too, Father," he whispered and kissed his father on the cheek. "Just sleep, now."

Duke Baird closed his eyes and stopped moving altogether, having held his son's hand in his last vestiges of life. Neal couldn't see through the blur of his tears, but he knew he set his head on the center of the old Duke's chest.

Roald wanted to comfort his friend, but he knew he couldn't achieve it. He did, however, know someone who could.

* * *

When Kel entered the infirmary, Neal still had his head resting on his father's chest.

"Neal," she said quietly, kneeling next to him, gentle fingers resting on his back.

He lifted his head from the Duke's chest and looked at Kel. His hand still rested in Duke Baird's as he looked at his best friend and the woman he loved with red-rimmed, bloodshot, swimming green eyes. Kel's breath caught in her throat, and she hugged him tightly.

"Neal," she breathed, stroking his hair and his back, wishing she could stop his pain. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, hugging her back. He didn't dare let go of his father's hand though. She didn't know what to tell him. The only thing she knew what to do for him was to hold him. So she held him, and they sat there on the floor of the infirmary, in the middle of it all for Neal had dragged his father's body away from the quarantined room, and he felt the tears coming on again. "Neal, shhh. It's okay," she murmured to him. "It's okay..."

His shoulders trembles against her, a strangled sob escaping his lips. He tried desperately to keep it in, but his body wouldn't have it. "He...he died right before me, Kel..." he told her. "He died holding my hand...I couldn't save him..."

"It was his time," she answered him, pulling away from him and looking into his deep, sad eyes. With gentle fingers, she wiped away his tears. "You could have done nothing for him, or died trying. I know you tried to save him, Neal. You...you could have died. The Black God would have taken you too. I don't think I could stand it without you." She smoothed down his hair and glanced at his hand, still in Duke Baird's. "I don't think he died in pain, Neal. Look at the smile on his face, and the way he grabbed your hand before he died. He and the Lioness healed people at the war with Tusaine over the Drell River Valley. The Lioness was sixteen then. He was chief healer when the Lioness was a page--when the King himself was a page. It was just his time to go, Neal."

Kel felt her own tears begin to slip down her cheeks. She had appreciated Duke Baird too. He had never turned her over when she got into a fight with Joren and the others, and he had always healed her well. He had treated her like the other pages, not as if she would break if he handled her like a boy. Yes, she had loved Duke Baird as well as Neal. She loved Duke Baird because he was Neal's father.

Slowly, Neal turned his eyes to his hand and looked at his father. Kel told him the truth. Duke Baird had died with a smile on his face. He hated to let go of his father's hand, but he knew he would have too. So he loosened his fingers and slid his hand from Duke Baird's, closing the fingers over. "How will I tell my mother?"

"I'll help you," Kel offered, brushing his hair from his eyes.

He looked at her with those emerald colored eyes of his as he caught her hand. "Thank you."

Kel nodded, glad to have made him feel better, even if she couldn't stop the pain he felt. She kissed him on the cheek and moved to get to her feet, but Neal wouldn't let her. His arm curled around her waist as soon as she had kissed his cheek, and he kissed her mouth.

Kel kissed him back before she realized what she had just engaged in. She let her lips linger on his for a moment before pulling away, staring at him. "Neal, we can't..."

"Why not? Doesn't this feel _right_ to you?" he asked her softly.

"You have no idea," she sighed, resting her forehead against his. "But...not here. Not now. We can't do this right now."

He reluctantly let go of her. "As you wish," he told her as he stood. He held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet. "Who do we tell about my father?"

"The king for certain," Kel answered. "Where did Roald go?"

"To get the king, I'd suspect," Neal surmised.

And King Jonathan walked in. "Great Merciful Mother..."


	11. Fools Rush In

**Fools Rush In**

Five days had passed since Duke Baird's collapse and ultimate, untimely death in front of the isolation room. Much speculation had gone on about just how the Duke had died. He had seemed in perfectly good health one moment and had gone unconscious the next. Alanna had come to Corus as soon as she had heard about the mysterious death of her former squire's father, and she had helped Neal perform a sort of autopsy on the body.

They found nothing mysterious.

Kel, meanwhile, had hunted down Garvey and had him pinned against the wall.

"Why did you kill him?" she demanded, her voice icy.

"Kill who?" Garvey asked as his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Gee, I don't know, Garvey." Kel glared at him and slammed him harder against the wall.

Garvey stared at Kel as if she had lost her mind. Suddenly, he remembered what she could possibly be talking about: the death of her best friend's father. "You mean, why did I kill Duke Baird?"

"Wow, you _do_ have some mental function!" Kel cried sarcastically. "Why did you kill him?"

"I didn't," Garvey frowned. "Why would I do that? My orders lie strictly in harassing you, not killing the chief healer of the palace."

"Duke Baird was my best friend's father," Kel said through gritted teeth.

"Suppose he was," Garvey replied thoughtfully. "But I didn't kill him."

"Give me one reason why I should believe you," Kel demanded.

"You can write to Bardev and ask him yourself. He gives me my orders as much as he gives you yours," Garvey snarled. His temper had begun to flare.

"Do you swear on the Master's life that you didn't kill Duke Baird?" Kel demanded as she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes." Garvey kicked her off. She stumbled backwards, her fists clenched. "Don't accuse me of killing anyone. You know I don't do that."

Kel barked out of a laugh. "Right. You don't kill anyone. That's a wonderful joke, Garvey. How did I not know to accuse you? I know you would have done anything if only the Master wanted it."

Garvey's eyes lit up dangerously. "True. But I didn't kill this time. You should choose more carefully who you accuse of doing what, though."

"Do you not understand that you _like_ to kill and I know that, and I know that you and Bardev and the Master would stop at _nothing_ to make me your puppet?" Kel asked him. "You...you seemed the perfect choice for me to accuse."

"Righteous Kel," Garvey taunted. He turned and walked off, shimmering and disappearing. "Guess it was just the old goat's time to go, regardless."

"Bastard," she growled.

"Oh, by the way," Garvey's disembodied voice said. "The Master has bought the Abscador Scroll from the Bazhir." Kel didn't let herself breathe a sigh of relief. "However, your friend stays with us. He may return, but he will answer to us."

Kel closed her eyes and clenched her fists again. "Merric," she whispered.

"Have fun, Kel."

"Bastard."

* * *

  
Neal and Alanna had taken to filling in at the infirmary in the chief of healer's absence. The King still had not appointed a new one, due to his own grieving over Duke Baird. Neal had written to the steward at Queenscove, equivocally telling him to consult Neal rather than Duke Baird on matters of the fief. He still had not gotten an answer back, but he didn't quite care.

It seemed the only things Neal quite cared about these days were Kel and healing people in his father's place.

"Neal," Alanna said gently, taking his shaking hands away from the shelf of potions. "You should rest for a little."

"Nonsense," he snapped. "I'm fine, Alanna." He jerked his hands away from Alanna and reached for the potion again, ignoring the fact that he could hardly hold the bottle still, let alone pour it accurately.

"'An unfocussed healer means a patient's fatality,'" Alanna quoted.

"Dammit, Alanna! Leave me alone!" Neal glared at his former knight master.

Alanna glared up at him, her violet eyes as hard as crystal and sparkling with concern for her former squire. "Working yourself to death won't erase your father's," she explained to him quietly. "You have a lot of people depending on you to stay healthy and well, and the more you work yourself to the bone trying to make up for the life taken from you, the more it increases their chance to die. The more you make everyone worry about you. Neal, I've stayed here and worked with you when I could have gone home. You weren't the only one affected by Duke Baird's," she paused as he flinched, "death. I'm worried about you, Neal. Kel and Yuki are worried about you too. All of your friends have come to me, asking me to take care of you, and I've tried, but you won't let me."

"What part of 'leave me alone' did you not hear, Alanna?" Neal demanded. He tore his eyes away from the violet fire in front of him, shakily pouring a dose of pain killer for a page who had fallen off of his horse and cracked a rib. He rubbed at his bleary eyes and blinked away the fog, making sure he had poured the correct amount. Luckily, he had. Neal picked up the cup and walked over to the patient's bed, sitting on the side and handing him the cup. The page looked at him warily, not trusting the potion's foul smell. "It won't kill you, Justen. Your ribs hurt, don't they?" the boy nodded. "Then drink up. It'll stop the pain."

Justen drank the potion, trying his hardest not to spit it out as soon as it entered his mouth.

"Good," Neal praised him and ruffled Justen's hair lightly and took the cup over to the basin of dirty utensils.

"Neal, please," Alanna pleaded. "I just want you to get a little bit of sleep. Then tomorrow you can get up bright and early, sunrise even, and come straight here. I just want you to sleep for a little while."

"You should get some sleep," he replied gruffly. He splashed his face with cold water from a basin of clean water.

"I slept last night. You didn't. You need sleep more than I do," Alanna argued. "Don't make me put you to sleep myself."

"I'm fine," he insisted.

Alanna sighed. She stood for a moment, staring him down. Finally, she spoke. "I need to use the privy."

"Go," Neal waved her off. He cleaned his hands in the water he had just splashed his face with and walked over to the isolation room. Seaver still lied inside, looking ghostly pale and sallow against the bed. Alanna left the infirmary as Neal entered the isolation room. "Good evening, Seaver."

"Maybe for you," Seaver answered hoarsely, grinning barrenly at him. "I heard you fighting with the Lioness outside."

Neal shook his head. "Sorry. Did we wake you up?"

"No," Seaver responded. He coughed deeply and looked up at Neal sheepishly. "What do I have, healer? Speak truthfully."

Neal sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. I really wish I did. I don't know how to treat you if I don't know what you have."

"Did you see anything like this during the war?" Seaver asked.

"No," he replied. "The only thing I can do right now is treat your symptoms. Speaking of which, how did that potion help you?"

Seaver and Neal continued their conversation, eventually ending with Neal taking Seaver's pulse and listening to his heartbeat and checking his other body parts. "Well, you seem fine except for the things you told me about," Neal concluded. "I think the only thing I can do for you at this point is make you as symptom-free as I can."

"Thanks, Neal." Seaver grinned, settling back on his pillows and falling asleep.

Neal left the isolation room and changed his robes, burning the others in the small hearth off of the isolation room. He stared at the fire a moment, mesmerized in his fatigue, and nearly jumped a mile when someone laid his or her hand on his shoulder.

"Neal," Kel whispered.

He looked at her. In the flickering shadows of the flames in the hearth, the bags under his eyes barely visible in normal light seemed to engulf his cheeks, making his eyes two abnormally large, luminous jewels on his pale face. A chill swept over Kel's body and she found herself in Neal's arms, holding him tightly. She found that in her effort to protect Neal, she had neglected to protect herself from the old feelings she had for him. She had an idea of whether or not he returned her feelings because he had kissed her twice now, and he used to look at her with longing, loving eyes before his father died.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Neal, come with me," Kel said softly, taking his hand. She led Neal to his quarters and escorted him to his bed. She turned to leave, but he tugged on her hand and she found herself in his bed. "Neal..."

"Shhhh," he told her quietly, pulling her against him. "Sleep."

"Here?" Kel asked incredulously. "Neal, what if Yuki--"

"She doesn't have a key," he mumbled against her ear, sending shivers down Kel's spine. "As long as no one knows, they can't care."

So Kel gave in and rolled over, tucking her head under his chin. When she heard his breathing become long and even, she lifted her head and gently pressed her lips against his. "Goodnight, Neal. Sweet dreams."

She nestled against his chest and heard him echo her, "Goodnight, Kel. Sweet dreams."

* * *

Kel woke up in Neal's arms, feeling safe and warm and almost as if her heart would burst from content. Despite the heavy dread and cold inspired by Duke Baird's death, she took great comfort in the fact that she could feel so loved and wonderful in the company of Neal of Queenscove.

She turned her head to see Neal staring at her, the spark of the love and longing he felt for her dancing playfully in his eyes. She saw that just the night she had spent simply sleeping in his bed had chased some of the shadows from his mind and heart.

"You kissed me last night," he said quietly.

She blushed, suddenly very aware of Neal's arm around her waist. It hadn't left that position all night, she guessed. "Yes I did."

The ghost of a smile graced his lips. "Yuki will feel very murderous at the both of us when I tell her what we've done."

Kel snorted, a very unladylike sound. "Yuki doesn't have a 'murderous' bone in body. The one who will like to murder us is your cousin."

"True," Neal conceded. "I don't want you kissing him anymore."

Kel rolled her eyes. "Neal, don't be silly."

"Seriously. I don't want you kissing him anymore." He gave her one of his pleading, kicked puppy looks.

"I can't just _stop_ kissing him," she looked away from him. "He'll get suspicious."

"Who cares? I don't like it," Neal pouted at her.

"Neal," she sighed.

He glanced to his window and heard the clock tolling the hour. Nine o'clock in the morning. "I should get up and go help Alanna in the infirmary."

"I think you should take the day off," Kel replied.

"Oh?" Neal asked. "And do what? Watch everyone mope around wearing black and mourning for someone they never knew personally? No thank you. I'd rather not waste my time."

"You need to make preparations for your father's burial," she told him quietly. "I told you. I'll help you if you want me to do so. But you need to have a memorial or something to let everyone speak their mind of what they knew of your father. He touched everyone's lives, Neal."

"Nobody knew him though," he argued. "Nobody knew him except me, my mother, Alanna, the Royal Family, and you. Why should I let everyone make a mockery, a travesty out of his death?"

"Don't be so selfish," Kel berated him. "As chief of the healers, everyone knew him a little. Everyone knew of him or knew him, so just let them think they're grieving. You won't lose anything by it. You can just have his funeral at Queenscove and have a memorial service here."

"You are very intelligent," Neal told her. "Seriously though. I feel wasted sitting here. Er, lying here. I promise I won't make you come get me so late tonight. Not that I mind you coming and getting me. I just hope I didn't kill anyone last night. 'An unfocused healer means a patient's fatality,' as the Lioness tried to tell me last night."

Kel chuckled. "Okay, okay. You win. Go to breakfast with me?"

"Of course," he replied.

* * *

  
Dom and Yuki had waited for Kel and Neal in front of the mess hall, talking and neither voicing the idea that Kel and Neal had spent the night together. Quite frankly, both of them refused to entertain the idea in their mind, let alone tell the other. They both wanted to believe that their significant other had developed into something more than friends.

"Neal!" Yuki cried, seeing her fiancee turn the corner. She refused to acknowledge the fact that Kel walked with him. Besides, he may have just run into her in the hallway. The fact that they walked together, Neal smiling--something Yuki had tried her hardest to manage--could all just be coincidence.

Dom suspected otherwise as he waved to Kel. Neal hugged and kissed Yuki as if Kel hadn't kissed him last night, and Dom hugged and kissed Kel as if she hadn't kissed Neal the night before. Yuki and Dom both missed the glances Kel and Neal spared at each other and led them into the mess. The mess had long since cleared of its inhabitants, but remainders of breakfast still sat on the tables for the late wakers. Kel and Neal somehow managed to sit side-by-side as they had at the disastrous supper the previous week.

Neal reached under the table periodically to squeeze Kel's hand. He felt somewhat guilty in doing so right in front of Yuki, but his hand seemed to have a mind of its own. In fact, so did Kel's hand, it seemed. She squeezed back every time he did.

"So," Neal said congenially. "I feel better after a good night's sleep. How about you three?"

_Playing innocent, are we, Mr. Queenscove?_ Kel thought wryly. "I feel wonderful."

Neal smiled discreetly at her.

"It's damn cold in King's Own barracks. I hate October," Dom grumbled.

"Don't you need to go back to the desert soon?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah. But Raoul said I could stay as long as needed too because of Uncle," Dom answered. "Speaking of which, when will the funeral be, Neal? And where?"

"You'll know when I decide," Neal replied evasively.

"That translates into 'I don't know,'" Kel reiterated.

"You should hush up," Neal growled playfully.

Yuki cleared her throat and took a sip of juice. Neal stopped playing with Kel and turned to her. She had forgiven him for calling her Kel while they had fooled around. In fact, the apology scene went something like this:

Neal approached Yuki outside her quarters and said softly, "Hello."

"Sir Neal," she replied stiffly.

Ouch. "I need to talk to you."

"I can't imagine about what," she told him coldly.

"I wanted to apologize to you about the other night," he had continued.

Yuki looked at him sharply, her almond-shaped eyes glittering with amusement. "I don't care about it. I know that she was on your mind. You told me that you and her had had some trouble recently. I understand."

"But--"

"Sh. It's okay."

And Neal had not since tried to tell her what he had wanted to tell her. She wouldn't listen, for one thing. So he would just have to do what Duke Baird had done and wait until she got suspicious enough of him and huffed off. He didn't want her angry with Kel, but it would have to turn out that way. Apparently, they literally couldn't keep their hands off of each other.

In fact, Neal wouldn't be surprised if Kel tagged along and went to the infirmary with him.

Once Neal finished his breakfast, he ruffled Kel's hair and kissed Yuki on the cheek. "If any of you need me, I'll be in the infirmary with Alanna."

* * *

  
Alanna thought, at first, that Neal had gone mad from lack of sleep when he walked into the infirmary and greeted his patients cheerily, as well as his coworker. She outright asked him if he had gone mad, too.

"Nope!" he answered laughingly. "I just had a good night's sleep."

Alanna rolled her eyes. "See? I told you it would do you a world of good."

"Just had to add the 'I told you so' didn't you?" Neal asked her dryly. He then set to work with his patients, checking lastly on Seaver. He tried out a spell Alanna had taught him during his squire years that he had forgotten until then. It spelled his clothes for protection against the highly contagious germs in the isolation room.

As he emerged from the isolation room, washing his hands in the basin, he heard someone sneak up behind him. _Kel,_ he thought immediately, even as her hands clamped over his eyes.

"Guess who," she whispered in his ear, his skin tingling.

"Gee," he said softly. "Could it be..." he took her hands from his eyes and grinned. "Kel."

"Cheat," she accused. Kel flipped her short hair over her shoulder and felt gooseflesh break out on her arms at the way he watched her each and every move.

"I think I'd like to argue the 'cheaters never win' theory," he told her suggestively.

"You..." Kel put her hands on her hips. "Are insufferable."

He ducked his head in acknowledgment. "Didn't we go over that a week or so ago?"

"I believe we did," Kel answered.

"Keladry, Nealan!" Alanna barked from nearby. "Quit flirting--" both of them turned bright red. "And make yourselves useful. You're worse than my children!"

"For such a small woman, you sure make a lot of noise," Neal teased the first lady knight. She made a rude gesture at him and went about her business, leaving Kel and Neal to snicker behind her back. Neal measured out some potions for Alanna while she checked on some patients, and he said to Kel, "How does the Monday after next sound?"

"For what?" Kel asked, holding the cup for him as he poured the potion into it.

"Father's burial," he sighed. A dark shadow crossed his face, making him seem much, much older.

"That sounds fine," Kel agreed. "Shall I ask my mother to write the announcements? Or do you want your mother to write them?"

"I still haven't told her," Neal set the bottle upon its proper shelf. "I want a small burial, Kel. Nothing very fancy. Father didn't like fancy. Always said it was a waste."

"He was right," Alanna piped up, joining the two. She took the potion Kel held and looked at Neal. "For Justen?"

He nodded. "Do you think you can come to Queenscove the Monday after next for Father's burial?"

"Yeah," Alanna agreed. She left again.

"I'll make a list," Kel continued. "And you can tell me whether or not I should tell Mother to invite them."

"I'd like that," Neal told her.

Alanna came back and knocked Neal on the back of the head. "Will you help me today or will you just stand there talking with Kel?"

"I can't do both?" he asked cheekily.

Alanna stood on her toes and knocked him on the back of the head again. "Get a move on!"

"Ow! Alanna!" he whined, picking up one of the cups he had just poured potion into. Kel held up the bottle he had poured into it, helping him remember who it was for, and he carted it off.

Alanna watched a silly smile spread on Kel's face and chuckled. "I see you fancy our young Queenscove."

Kel blushed. "Not really."

"I used to say that about my best friend," Alanna examined the cups. "And I ended up marrying him."

Trying to come up with something to say, Kel's mouth moved without sound, looking something like a fish.

Alanna chuckled. "Think, child."

"...Not a child," she mumbled.

"Then stop acting like one," Alanna patted the young lady knight on the head.

"I can't fancy him," Kel said finally. "He loves Yuki."

"Does he? Maybe you should ask him," Alanna advised. "And perhaps you should get to work on that list, Lady Queenscove."

Kel turned bright red. "I beg your pardon, Lady Alanna! They call me Keladry of _Mindelan_, not..."

Alanna laughed and walked out to the beds again.

* * *

  
Alanna insisted Neal take an extra hour for midday once the bell rang and, surprisingly, Neal agreed. He used the hour to meet with Kel in the library to decide on the list of those invited to the burial at Queenscove and came up with the Royal Family, Kel, her father, her mother, Lord Raoul and Buri, Duke Gareth the Younger, Alanna, Myles, Dom, and Dom's family. Neal found the list larger than he had originally wanted, but he found that those on it knew Duke Baird the best out of the palace.

For about ten minutes after the half hour they had taken to make the list, they sat in silence. Kel played with her pen and tried not to look at Neal, the Lioness's words ringing fresh in her mind. Should she really ask Neal the obvious question of whether he loved Yuki or not? She and Neal had kissed a couple of times, so what? Neal may just have acted on impulse. She _had_ taunted him into finding some inventive way to make her shut up the first time, and he had just come off of a rather large wave of grief the second time. And the night before? Kel had kissed him...why had she done that? Hadn't she talked herself into loving Dom? Or did Alanna tell her what she couldn't admit to herself? Had she fallen in love with Neal?

"Kel," Neal said suddenly.

Startled from her thoughts, she looked up at him. "What?"

"Help me find this book I need to find," he requested.

"Does this book you need to find have a title?" Kel quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Probably," Neal replied.

"Neal!" Kel cried, finding herself pulled up from her seat gently by her wrist. He led her to a less-used part of the library, hidden in the shadows of the sunlight streaming through the windows and the torches lit in the places it didn't. "I can't see a thing over here."

"That's the point."

Kel found herself seized and pressed gently against the wall. The next thing she knew, Neal had pressed his lips against hers and now kissed her. And she had taken to kissing him back.

They stood in the shadows of that particular library aisle, in the darkest part of the shadows, making out like a couple of teenagers until the clock outside tolled the hour. Quite frankly, Neal thought they didn't have enough time.

Kel looked up at Neal, thankful the shadows hid her flushed cheeks and overbright eyes. She smiled at him and fought back a fit of giggles by resting her forehead on Neal's chest. "What the hell did we just do?" she whispered.

Neal chuckled softly himself. "Had one hell of a friendly kiss, I'd reckon."

"Shh," Kel told him. She could feel that her lips had swollen. "Don't you need to go back to Alanna now?"

"Shit, that's right," Neal sighed. "Meet me here after curfew."

"What?" she asked. "We can't!"

"Remember what I said last night? 'As long as no one knows, no one can care?'" he reminded her. "Just meet me here, will you?"

Kel sighed and gave in. "All right, all right. Now go, before the Lioness chews you out for being late."

Neal kissed her lightly one more time before dashing out of the library.

* * *

  
Neal returned to the infirmary, giddy. Alanna had literally never seen her former squire like this, even after he and Yuki had first started courting. "All right," she said after an hour of Neal on his high. "What happened?"

Neal chuckled. "Nothing."

"Looks like a whole lot of giddy for nothing," Alanna replied. Neal hardly acknowledged her scrutinizing stare. "_Something_ must have happened!"

"Oh, doesn't the curiosity kill you?" Neal teased. "Luckily, I can keep secrets."

Alanna laughed loudly at that. "You, keep secrets?"

"Yes," Neal scoffed. A page wandered in then.

"Sir Neal?" he asked.

"I've been summoned," he told Alanna and emerged into the main room of the infirmary. "Why, if it isn't James of Tridelta. What troubles you?"

The little page from Tridelta's face lit up. "You remember me?"

"Of course I do," Neal motioned to the chair sitting against the wall on his right. "How's the finger?"

James flexed his finger for Neal. "Good as new."

"Great," Neal answered, nodding. "You sound like you have a cold."

James sniffed and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. "Yes, sir. I do."

Neal touched the page's forehead, his fingertips lighting up with an emerald green. In moments, the page's symptoms disappeared, the cold erased from his blood stream.

"Thank you, Sir Neal!" James grinned.

"Off with you," Neal gave the boy a gentle shove on the back towards the door.

James ran off as Alanna came up behind Neal. "You have a way with the younger ones," Alanna observed.

Neal shrugged. "I never noticed. Kel says I have a way with everyone."

Alanna laughed, clapping him on the back. "You mean you have your way with everyone."

"Oh, ha ha," Neal answered dryly. "I love you too, Alanna."

* * *

  
Supper passed uneventfully. Dom had asked Kel to eat in the King's Own mess with him, and she had agreed; Yuki had asked Neal to eat in her chambers with her, he had no choice but to concede. Now that Neal had arranged a date for the funeral of Duke Baird, he had alerted Raoul, who had told Dom to return to the desert the next day. He had asked Kel to eat with him for that reason.

Neal returned to the infirmary after supper, giving Alanna the evening off. She had worked harder than he had today, and he didn't want _her_ collapsing on him. He had anticipated the fact that she may fight him on this, so he approached Jon and asked him to request the Champion take the evening off. Not one to fight a royal decree, Alanna had glared at Neal and grumbled and gone off to her quarters.

As the curfew bell tolled, Neal finished checking on Seaver and told the healer coming on duty about the spell Alanna had taught him as a squire. He then walked off to the library, slipping in quickly and finding Kel already there, in the same aisle they had kissed in earlier. He smiled when he saw her, summoning a small, dim green light.

"I didn't think you would come," he whispered.

"Of course I came. Have I ever broken a promise to you?" she whispered back.

"Did he kiss you?" Neal asked skeptically. Seeing Kel flinch, he knew the answer before she nodded. He narrowed his eyes. "But he's leaving tomorrow, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Kel sighed. "We won't see him again until Queenscove. Should we invite Yuki so she doesn't feel left out?"

"I don't want to talk about her right now."

He swept her up in his arms and couldn't help but grin when he felt her arms snake behind his neck and her hands clasp at the nape. He kissed her lightly, slowly moving his lips over hers. And much in that fashion, they proceeded to make out yet again.

* * *

  
Merric wandered onto the palace grounds on foot. He walked with a confident swagger, pleased to find only the sentries on duty and no one else on the grounds as well. The last thing he wanted was Kel or Neal rushing up to him and greeting him. He felt like scum enough as it was. He didn't want to obey the Master anymore than Kel did, but instead of making threats on his servants' lives, he decided to simply fold and let them take what they wanted from him.

Apparently, the Master had underestimated Merric's ability to feign sincerity. He also failed to see when Merric had manipulated the--man? woman? being?--into spilling all of its secrets. He knew the why, who, and how of the Master's plans, and he only regretted not having the opportunity to wheedle the when and where out of the Master too before it sent him off.

Obviously, Merric couldn't deliver this information to the King and Queen yet. Not without the when and where, in any case. The why, who, and how would just remain useless information without the particularly vital parts. It would be like having arms, legs, and head without having a torso to hold it all together and a brain to make it function.

Merric stole into the shadows of the courtyard, slipping into one of the side doors and tugging at the string holding his cloak around his neck. He felt a presence brush past him--Garvey. He winced, yanking at the knot on the cloak, and finally, having enough of its incessant irritation, pulled out a dagger to cut it off when the strings seemingly untied themselves.

"You're welcome," Garvey said gruffly. He remained invisible to the palace but quite in plain view to Merric, as Merric had had his own weapons carved with the runes that Garvey's had.

"My thanks," Merric replied awkwardly. He remembered when Joren, Garvey, and their other little friend--he couldn't remember his name--used to harass him as a page. Before he started having group study sessions with Kel and Neal and everyone else. He lowered his voice and studied Garvey for a moment. He had an ugly "Y" shaped scar on the left side of his face. "How long does she think I've been gone?"

"Since Bardev gave her the time limit," Garvey shrugged. Merric pictured Bardev in his mind: two glittering eyes surrounded by darkness and shadows. He had never seen all of Bardev, and he somehow doubted anyone but the Master had. "Why do you care?"

"Just wondering how much of a shock I should pretend to go into," Merric answered coldly. He pretended his heart had turned to stone so he could slip into the role of Ruthless Puppet Merric. "Did she leave the palace at any time?"

Garvey shook his head. "Not at all. Don't reckon she cares about you much, Hollyrose." His fingers brushed over the hilt of his sword out of habit. Thanks to the sword, he could walk, undetected, around the palace. It shielded him from the prying eyes of people _and_ animals. He, like Merric, also wore a charm around his neck: should he try to betray the Master in any way, he would experience a rather painful, bloody, horrible death. "Or she's just a silly girl with a sword."

Merric barked out a laugh. At a simple thought, he felt the heavy blanket of magic veil him from sight. He and Garvey could run screaming down the hallways, tap-dancing, and making rude gestures at people and go unseen and unheard. They could, however, make someone hear them, as Garvey had done with Kel back when he had harassed one of the lowliest servants of the Master. He had let Kel see him and hear him, but to others--except for the servant as well--would not see him and would not hear him. Magic of the Abscador Scroll.

"I'll keep that in mind. Where is she now?" Merric wanted to know.

"Last I saw her she had sneaked into the library with that Queenscove fellow," Garvey shrugged.

Merric nodded, then veiled himself from even Garvey's sight. Garvey let out a frustrated growl and stormed off in the opposite direction, not bothering to disappear from Merric's vision. A pity, too. Merric could just run up behind him and run him through with his runic sword. Then again, he would also die, writhing in agony on the floor, shielded until someone happened to run into him. So Merric whisked off to the library.

He saw no signs of Kel or Neal until he listened as hard as he could. He heard...giggling...and other associated kissing noises. Arching an eyebrow, Merric followed his ears until he found Neal and Kel tucked in a corner of the library, having the time of their lives with free reign over the other's mouth. Having no idea whether to find himself disgusted or happy for his friends, Merric retreated to his rooms on the other side of the palace.

* * *

  
Dom entered the King's Own barracks, finding his squad's beds emptier than ever. He would soon join them again, but he wouldn't have his Kel until the burial of Duke Baird. He knew that Neal would invite her, if only because they had known each other forever.

Dom heard something crackle underneath him as he sat on the bed. He reached underneath him, pulling a wad of crumpled, somewhat dirty piece of parchment off of the bed.

"What's this?" he wondered aloud, suddenly glad that he was the only one in the barracks at the moment. He unfolded the parchment. "'Dear Yuki,'" he read aloud. "Whoa." He scratched his head and shrugged. "'I would like to apologize..' blah blah blah...'I have fallen in love with Kel'?!" Dom jumped off of his bed, hitting his head on the bunk above him but not caring. "Neal's in love with Kel?!"


	12. Final Goodbyes

**Final Goodbyes**

The day of Duke Baird's burial had finally arrived. Neal woke that morning in his chambers, his feet and hands freezing. Taking one glance outside, he found that snowflakes had begun their gentle descent to the grounds at Queenscove. In the room on his right resided Kel, and in the room on his left resided Yuki. The room above him his mother had shared with his father when the Duke still lived in Queenscove. The guest wing, in which all of the other guests that had come for Duke Baird's burial stayed in, broke off like a dormitory hall just off of the rooms he, his mother, his fiancee, and the woman of his affections stayed in.

When Neal had dressed in snow clothes (it always started to snow in October in Queenscove), he looked out of the window again. He saw Alanna's flaming red hair through one of the windows and couldn't find it in himself to chuckle at Alanna's lack of winter wear. Sir Myles had chosen the room on Alanna's right, Raoul and Buri the room on her left, Gareth the room across the hallway. Kel's parents shared the room next to Gareth. Dom and his family stayed in the rooms underneath the knights on the second floor, and as for the Royal Family...

All Neal needed to do was walk out of his room and knock on the door across from him to find Roald and Shinkokami. At the end of the hallway in which he, Yuki, and Kel stayed in, resided King Jon and Queen Thayet. Kalasin had requested the remaining room on that side of the hallway, snug and in between her brother and his wife and her parents.

Neal trudged down the staircase to the parlor in which, as a reckless child, he had run in and hit his head on the corner of the wall. He ran his hand over the chipped stone as he walked past it, continuing through the parlor and into the Banquet Hall.

"Cook," he called.

"Yes, yer Grace?" Cook replied, appearing in the threshold of the doorway to the kitchen.

Neal frowned. "I...you don't need to address me as 'your Grace' yet..."

"'Course I do," Cook huffed. "Yer father's passed, rest his soul and may the Black God ease 'is passin'. That makes ye head of the estate, don't it?"

"Doesn't it," Neal murmured. His frown deepened. "Does it really? I thought Mother--"

"No disrespect, yer Grace, but ye mother ain't fit to take care of nothin' since she found out 'bout yer father's death. She's failin', Yer Grace. She started failin' since before ye gave word of yer father," Cook sighed. "So, ye see, yer Grace, ye'll jest have to suck it up and face facts. Yer head of the estate. Now, what did ye call me for?"

Neal scratched the back of his head, momentarily forgetting what he had called Cook out for. "Oh. Have you the places for our guests assigned yet?"

"No, yer Grace," Cook answered easily. "Her Grace had 'posta organized it all last Thursd'y. She didn't, I swear it."

"Had she not asked you to do so?" Neal could feel the corners of his mouth drag down even farther.

"No, yer Grace," Cook shrugged helplessly. "I reckon ye could arrange right quickly, if ye'd be willin' to help a poor cook out."

Neal quickly drew a small map of the Banquet Hall. Logically, he sat himself and his mother at the head of the tables. Cook had arranged the tables long ago in a U shape, so the masters and mistresses of the ducal fief could sit at the long horizontal table in the rear while guests could sit along the sides. So Neal sat himself and his mother in the horizontal table in the center. The Royal Family also sat up there with him and his mother as guests of honor. He placed Dom and his aunt, uncle, and the rest of Dom's family on the left table, with Kel and her parents. On the right table he placed the Lioness, Myles, Raoul, Buri, and Gareth. Yuki would sit with Shinkokami if the princess would allow it.

The frail Duchess of Queenscove floated into the Banquet Hall then, looking like a ghost in her plain black gown. The soft brown hair that Neal inherited from her had long since faded to a shimmering silver, her sharp features having grown sharper over the years. She had veiled her eyes with wispy black netting and gloved her slender, steady fingers in black silk.

"Mother," he said solemnly, inclining his head and shoulders in a slight bow. "Good morning."

Neal refused to acknowledge the black cloud of death steadily spreading in his mother's chest. He could sense it from where he stood by the edge of the table forming the bottom of the U, so he knew his mother didn't have much more time to live. That depressed him.

"Neal," she replied quietly, drifting into the dining hall. She took her seat at the head of the table as Neal took a seat next to her. Cook served them both personally.

"Did any of the others eat yet?" he asked Cook quietly.

Cook shook his head. "Not yet. Though, if my ears don't deceive me, I do reckon I hear yer lady guests and the Royal Fam'ly rustlin' about."

Neal nodded. "Thank you."

No sooner had Cook said that did Kel appear in the threshold of the dining hall, clothed entirely in black, as Neal. She wore black trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt with even pristine black boots. She gave Neal a small smile and sat next to him. Cook brought food to Kel shortly afterwards. Soon Queen Thayet and King Jonathan entered the room, sitting across from Neal and Kel. Roald and Shinkokami followed quickly; Yuki took a few more moments to prepare herself and sat on the other side of Kel. Kalasin edged in a few minutes after Yuki, finding a seat on the other side of Shinkokami.

The dining table remained deathly silent except for the occasional, "Pass the butter."

Neal and Kel finished first and excused themselves as the Lioness and Kel's parents entered the dining hall from outside. They passed Raoul and Buri in the hallway, followed by Gareth, Dom, Dom's brother and sister, and finally Neal's aunt and uncle. Myles opted to eat breakfast in his room, saying that the snow would chill his aching bones faster than the others.

Neal walked with Kel up to her room in a somewhat comfortable silence, only sparing the occasional glance at her. They had agreed without words to go outside and inspect the grounds, as the burial ceremony would take place out doors, but Duke Baird's body would lie in the tombs beneath the Queenscove Estate. Neal waited by the door while Kel slipped her warmer clothes on over her black ones and followed her outside.

They had anticipated snow that day and erected something of a large tent over the area where they had planned to hold the ceremony.

"How ironic," Neal said softly, watching the snowflakes drift lazily to the ground or onto the awning and slide off. Kel looked at him and waited for him to continue, following him under the tent. "Father always hated the snow."

Kel joined him in the center of the area--a small garden, she noted--and wrapped her arms gently around his waist. He absently stroked her hair and stared into the white distance. Apparently, it had started snowing long before dawn. "The gods know it's a sad day..."

"Father always loved this garden," he told her abruptly. His voice sounded strained and thick with sadness. He broke away from her and stared at the flowers, weighed down by snow if they didn't sit inside the tent. He turned around and spread his arms, looking at her helplessly. "Do you think I did right by choosing here to hold the ceremony?"

Kel nodded, blinking back tears. She could see Neal on the brink of losing his composure and that made her want to break down as well, but she knew that if she did, he would too. "I think you chose the perfect spot."

He suddenly stepped outside of the shelter of the awning, looking up at the gray clouds. Kel stood just under the edge of the material, watching him as he stood, staring at the sky.

"Your Grace?"

Neal shook himself from his reverie, flinging snow from his hair as he turned to face the priest of the Black God. "Priest Samuel," he greeted the man. He stood four inches over Kel, with dark hair and even darker eyes. He nodded once to Neal and walked over to the center of the tent.

_"Your Grace?"_ Kel wondered. _When did they start calling him "your Grace"?_

"I had planned to move chairs out here into two rows," Neal had started to explain. "And I had hoped you would stand up there." He motioned to a small platform. "If you would rather stand somewhere else, I can call one of the servants to move the platform."

Priest Samuel just answered monotonously with, "Wherever you wish to place me will suit my needs."

"Good," Neal said. He nodded. "Good."

They stood in eerie quiet after that. Kel shifted awkwardly on her feet, and, finally unable to bear the silence any longer, approached Neal and touched his arm softly. He looked at her, nodded, and looked up at the priest. "Do you need anything? Do you want to come inside and make yourself warm before you do the service?"

Priest Samuel shook his head again. "No. Why warm myself when I'll just cool down again?"

"Good point," Neal murmured. He studied the stoic priest of the Black God and finally offered his arm to Kel. She stared at him like he had lost his mind until he shrugged, dropped the arm, and led her back into the castle.

Everyone, except for Neal's mother and the servants, had gathered in the parlor when Neal and Kel entered thte castle again. Kel took a seat with her parents while Neal stood in the foyer, looking somewhat like a lost puppy. He had a knack for pulling off puppy-related expressions, Kel noted absently. One of the servants meekly approached Neal, calling him "your Grace" loud enough for everyone nearby to turn and look at Neal. He simply shrugged and answered the servant's question, shifting uncomfortably under everyone's gaze.

Roald spoke first. "When did you take over the fief?"

Neal sighed. "Mother..." he began. He seemed to dislike what he had planned to say and sighed again. "Mother doesn't want the responsibilities of running a fief. She can't handle it either. Father had always run Queenscove through a steward, and now...well, I suppose by telling the steward to look to me for answers, I sort of stepped into the role of Duke of Queenscove." He finally stopped looking at the floor and up at everyone staring him. His eyes met Kel's and he seemed to gain more confidence. "I do think that by assuming the role, I can take some of the burden of my father's passing from my mother. By the way, has anyone seen her?"

"She told me to tell you," Alanna said as she brushed past the other guests. She lowered her voice soft enough for only Neal to hear. "She told me to tell you that she didn't wish to witness her husband's burial. She also said to send you to her chambers after I told you what she wanted."

Neal nodded. "Thank you." He looked at Kel, motioned for her to follow him, and walked to the staircase. Within a few moments, Kel had joined him. "Mother doesn't want to come," he confided. Kel sighed and shook her head sadly. "She wants me to go see her. Walk me up to her room?"

"Of course," Kel answered, walking with him up the staircase. As always, she began to automatically count the steps. She had already counted them about five times, but her habit had never broken. She stopped counting when Neal spoke to her, though. He seemed to need all the reassurance he could get.

"I don't know what to expect from her," Neal confessed, watching the stairs continue forlornly upwards. They paused in the spiraling ascension of the third floor corridor as Neal leaned against the wall. He sank to the ground. "I really don't know what to expect. I had hoped she would attend her own husband's burial..."

The words echoed chillingly off of the gray stones of the walls as Kel crouched down in front of him.

"Maybe she feels like you do," she suggested softly. He looked up and met her gaze, holding it and letting the words sink in as soon as they rolled off of her tongue. "She grew old with your father, didn't she? Maybe she doesn't have the strength to face facts."

"She doesn't have you to help her," Neal breathed. His eyes stayed trained on hers. "She doesn't have you..."

Kel hauled Neal to his feet then, taking his mittened hand in hers and leading him up the stairs. They halted in front of the grand chambers, suddenly feeling very small in front of the heavy, carved, oaken door.

Neal gave Kel a brief hug and turned to face the foreboding door. Kel gave him a gentle, encouraging shove, and he knocked on the carved surface, tracing some of the designs. Once he heard his mother's faint beckoning, he spared one last look at Kel, wearing his shamed puppy face, and ducked inside the chambers.

Kel waited impatiently outside the Duchess's rooms and by the time Neal had exited, she had taken to pacing back and forth in the narrow hallway. Neal looked sadder and paler than he had before he had taken the time to hold a conversation with his mother. He just threw his arms around Kel's neck and hugged her to him, his shoulders convulsing with tiny tremors as he held her.

"What'd she say?" Kel wanted to know.

"She says she simply cannot live any longer and stay happy," he murmured, his lips just above her ear. Suddenly, he grew paler, his voice lowering to barely a whisper. Had he not positioned his mouth so close to her ear, she would have never heard him. "She wanted me to kill her." His arms tightened around her. "She asked me to spread the ugly cloud of death looming inside of her, already choking the life from her little by little. She wanted me to kill her..."

"Neal," Kel choked. He had tightened his arms too much! "Let...go..."

Instantly, his arms dropped from her neck, hanging uselessly at his sides. His cheeks flushed shamefully. "Sorry."

"Don't," she told him, eyes hard. "Don't pity yourself. I know that's what you're trying to do. Don't let your mother get you down. Don't pity yourself because everyone down in that parlor pities you enough already." He stared at her, his mouth agape. "You don't need pity." He tilted his head slightly, absorbing her words. "Smile, Neal. Remember all of the good times you had with him, and don't focus on the fact that his time came. Don't focus on the fact that you will one day lose your mother, because we all lose our parents some day."

Neal continued to stare at her, unblinkingly, and suddenly his sullen, murky face broke into a ghost of a smile. "You always know what to say to me." He tugged his mitten from his hand, jamming the thing into his pocket and took Kel's hand in his own. She had removed her mittens while he had conversed with his mother. "Let's go back downstairs."

* * *

  
"Having fun with Kel?" Alanna asked scathingly of Neal as he herded everyone outside for the service a few hours later. Kel had moved to the front of the procession, acting as leader.

Neal looked at Alanna out of the corner of his eye. "What do you mean by that?"

"I _mean_," Alanna lowered her voice, "do you enjoy forsaking your fiancee for our young Mindelan?"

Neal drew his eyebrows together. "I don't know what you mean. I haven't 'forsaken' Yuki for Kel."

"Oh?" Alanna raised her eyebrows. "I haven't seen you spare more than just a simple glance at her since I arrived here."

He whirled on Alanna, desperately trying to keep his temper in check. "If memory serves, Lady Alanna, I think you've taken a room in the dormitory, _not_ in the castle living chambers. How would you judge whether or not I've 'spared more than a simple glance at her' since you got here?"

Kel noticed then that a ninth of their group had suddenly broken off. She turned to her mother and father, pointed out to the tent, and asked them to finish seating themselves. "Save a seat for Neal and me," she added, then hurried back to find two flaring tempers just inside the castle. "Neal! Lady Alanna!"

Neal's temper immediately cooled. He looked at Alanna and nodded. "I don't think this is either the time nor the place to have this conversation. I'll discuss it with you later." He started off with Kel.

Alanna fumed, following the two younger knights under the tent. Soon, her temper calmed, thoughts of snow and cold and the matter at hand taking precedence.

Neal, rather than sitting down, approached the platform and Priest Samuel. After exchanging brief words, Neal stood at the edge of the raised area, looking at all the face in the chairs on ground level. "I think I speak the truth, the blatant, obvious facts, when I say that I thought today would never come."

He watched heads nod slightly in agreement.

"I think I thought today wouldn't come more than anyone else in this garden. However, I know of someone else who loathes today more than I; and she decided not to come. I must say, I almost didn't attend today myself. I have never seen so many people wear black today as I have for all twenty-five years of my life, and I feel I have to say how depressing I find it. Everyone here knows I hate feeling so helpless and unhappy, but this time I can't do a _thing_ to change what has passed. The only thing I can provide for Father, now that he has passed into the Realm of the Dead, is a proper burial. And on that note, I'd like to hand the reins to Priest Samuel Deathspeaker."

Neal stepped off of the platform and joined Kel in the front row of the seats.

* * *

  
"...and may the Black God ease his passing," Priest Samuel Deathspeaker concluded. "May we have a moment of silence to reflect upon Baird of Queenscove's life?"

Not that anyone had made a noise since Samuel Deathspeaker started speaking, unless they had joined him on the platform to share their memories of the last duke, but the priest stopped speaking. A full minute passed before the priest finally spoke again. "May the Black God let him live forevermore in our hearts."

Priest Samuel Deathspeaker stepped off of the platform and kept walking, his feet making light imprints on the new snow. Neal got up to follow him, but by the time he reached the end of the footprints, the Black God's priest had left in his personal escort back to the City of the Gods.

Breath puffing out of his cold lungs in wispy white clouds, Neal returned to the burial procession. "If any of you wish to say your last goodbyes to my father, follow me."

Kel slipped to the back of the group this time, having learned her lesson from the earlier trek. Neal led them through a series of hallways, deep into the lower catacombs of the Queenscove citadel-like castle. They stopped at a somewhat dark, wide room. Shadows from the torches at the door (two on either side, and two on each wall from there) licked the corners of the tomb, making the room seem smaller than it truly was. A serene sense of musty souls in pleasant death filled the room, and at its center lied the white, ethereal body of Duke Baird.

"Who wants to go first?" Neal asked quietly, his words carrying down the hallway in the confined space.

Alanna and Jonathan made their way to the front of the convoy, stopping in front of Neal and volunteering to go first. They then exchanged heated expressions; Neal recognized the mark of good friends as they did so. Finally, Jon dropped the contest and turned to Neal. His eyes flickered to the son of his former chief healer and landed once more on Alanna, but he faced the twenty-five-year-old the entire time. "Ladies first," he demurred, taking a small step backwards.

Alanna nearly ripped the torch Neal had used to guide them out of her former squire's hand. She realized a moment later what Jon had said, her violet eyes growing wide. "_Ladies_ first? Jonathan of Conte, you know _full_ well..." she trailed off, her wrathful tirade cut short by the smirk tugging at the corners of the king's mouth. "I'm going now."

"Just hurry up, Alanna," Duke Gareth the Younger drawled from his position against the wall. "Others would like to participate in this."

Alanna decidedly hurried up and said her goodbyes to the best healer she had ever worked with. Jonathan followed, then Myles, Gary, Raoul, Roald, Thayet, Kalasin, Kel's parents, Dom, Dom's family, Kel, and finally Neal.

He found necessary to say one sentence to the body perserved by the priests of the Black God:

"See you in the Realm beyond, Father."

And with Raoul's and Dom's help, Neal put the body into the tomb and mounted a plaque on the seal. It said, "Baird of Queenscove. February 24, 386 - September 22, 462."

They stood somberly in the room for a moment longer before Neal and Kel led them back to the Banquet Hall. Neal stopped them at the foyer and made an announcement. "I must stress that this is _not_ a feast. I have decided to throw a wake of sorts for my father." He cleared himself from the doorway, standing to the side with his list from the morning in hand. He pointed out everyone's seat to them, finding his mother had yet to descend from her room. "Gods damn it all," he murmured. He turned to Kel. "Entertain them whilst I whisk off to see what hinders my mother so?"

Kel nodded and watched him leave. She, meanwhile, headed over to the kitchen, spoke briefly with Cook, and took the seat where Neal's mother would have sat, had she been there. The Royal Family talked amongst themselves around her, as did the rest of the guests. She only needed to watch them and make sure no arguments broke out until Neal returned, which she had no problem doing.

Neal sat down with her, solo. He offered her a halfhearted smile, then looked out over the array of guests. Standing, Neal lifted his empty chalice and tapped three times on the glassware. The room quieted and the guests settled in their chairs, looking at Neal raptly.

"I would like to thank you all, friends and family," Neal spoke, his throat dry. "It appears as if my mother has decided to cut herself off from anything concerning my father, so I have to make this announcement. I had originally not wanted a large service for him, but now I regret not having a bigger one than today's. I didn't realize at the time, in my grief-stricken state, that he had touched so many lives and made so many friends, and unfortunately I could only invite the people I knew that truly had made an effort to see past the healer visage." He met each person's eyes at one time or another during his brief speech. "I decided to have this banquet not to celebrate his passing, but to commemorate his life, as I said earlier. I know Cook has prepared quite an impressive meal for us today, so please enjoy." He thrust the chalice into the air, careful to avoid splashing water on the floor. "To my father."

"To Duke Baird," the others echoed, thrusting their own glasses into the air in an almost toast.

Neal took a seat, taking a sip of the water.

* * *

  
Twilight descended upon Queenscove, nestling everything into a sublimely perfect glow. Wolves in the distant forest howled ephemerally at the opalescent full moon as snow drifted languidly from the dreamlike clouds above. The stars danced affably on their dark velvet veranda, heedless of the beseeching darkness in Nealan of Queenscove's heart.

He stood outside, in the middle of one of the piles of snow gathered from the time they removed the tent in his father's garden till Neal stood there. He just...stood, thinking. He could feel the remnants of his mother's life slipping from her each time he saw her. He felt he had no choice but to remain in Queenscove as long as he could.

"Neal?"

He turned to face Yuki. He had hoped he had heard Kel. "Yuki," he replied.

She joined him. "Why aren't you inside?"

"Why aren't _you_ inside?" he countered.

Yuki sighed. "I realized you hadn't gone to your room yet."

_I want Kel,_ he thought selfishly. _I want Kel, not Yuki. Yuki just stands there and never says what needs to be said._

"Do you want me to leave?" Yuki asked quietly.

_Yes. Insert knife. Twist. Yank out. Stab. Twist again._ Neal scowled at the snow. "Not leave. Just go back inside. I can stand it out here because I have my Gift to keep me warm, but you...you just have your clothes."

"I understand," she whispered. Turning on her heel, she stormed back into the castle.

Neal sighed. He didn't intend to act so rudely with Yuki, it just sort of came out a lot of the time. A full fifteen minutes had passed before he realized that someone else had come out to get him this time: Kel.

"You need to come inside," Kel told him. "The snow, albeit new, is very cold. And wet."

Neal looked at her sharply. "Why did you all suddenly decide to come down and nag me to go inside?"

Kel's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me. What do you mean by 'did you all?'"

"You and Yuki _aren't_ in cahoots?" Neal asked skeptically.

She snorted. "No. I didn't even know she came to see you. I just heard a door close and thought it was you, so I knocked on your door and Yuki told me you hadn't come inside yet. Thus I came out here to drag your ass back into the castle."

"Drag my ass, hm?" he quirked an eyebrow at her. Before she knew it, he grabbed her around the waist, spun her around and fell to the ground with her. "I have something to tell you." Despite the cold wetness of the snow, Neal had deposited her on her back, sweeping her hair from her eyes gently as he propped himself up on one arm.

"Oh?" Kel watched him curiously.

He kissed her softly and pulled back just so his lips just barely brushed past hers when he spoke. "I'm i--"

"Kel? Kel! Where did you go? I saw you come out here..."

Kel's eyes went wide. "Damn. Dom."

Neal kissed her quickly and rolled away from her, getting to his feet. He extended a hand to her and helped her rise.

"Over here, Dom."


	13. Of Royal Heritage

**Of Royal Heritage**

"...It's snowing."

"No, really?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I wasn't. I was being sarcastic."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"I'm not falling for that again."

"Damn."

"You sound _so_ disappointed."

"How do you know if I'm disappointed or not?"

"I _know_ you."

"I _know_ you too. What a coincidence."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Still not falling for it."

"Do I have to take initiative?"

"Maybe."

"Why do _I_ always have to take initiative?"

"Because I can always say you bewitched me or forced yourself on me if I get caught."

"Some friend you make!"

"Oh hush."

Neal pounced on Kel, pinning her shoulders to his bed and straddling her waist. "You just like it when I pounce on you."

"Maybe," she answered coyly.

"You," he murmured, his lips brushing the skin where her neck and shoulder met, "like," he kissed her neck, "to," higher, "tease," he kissed the sensitive area under her earlobe, "me."

"Mm.." she moaned for a moment. She regained her senses though. "Wait! Neal, no."

"Why not?" he asked, pausing for a moment to look her in the eyes. He saw her stubborness begin to ebb away when his eyes met hers, and he waited until her expression softened before asking again. "Why not?"

"Because," she jerked her head towards the wall that divided Neal's room from Yuki's. "She might hear."

"Definitely problematic," he mumbled to himself. "But...how can I deny myself you, with the way I happened to land on you, and you so weak and helpless down there."

Kel's mouth set in a thin line. "You take that back, Neal."

"Fat chance," he scoffed. "You can call me 'your Grace' from now on, missy."

"'Missy?'" Kel repeated incredulously. "'_Missy?_'"

"Did I stutter?" he asked of her, smirking. He brushed her lips with his.

"No. And I refuse," she had pause because Neal suddenly took monopoly of her mouth, "to address you as 'your Grace', you pompously mordant fool."

"Oh, so now I'm a fool?"

"Yes, you haven't changed a bit."

"Huh. I guess you haven't lied to me."

"No, I never lie to you."

"Just like you think about me all the time?"

"I had wondered when you would bring that up again."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I th--"

A knock at the door startled the rest of his sentence back into his mouth. He groaned inwardly and rolled off of Kel, falling to the floor. Kel winced at the thump he made and grimaced when Yuki called out to him.

"Neal? What happened?!"

Neal rubbed his head, cringing. Kel watched as Neal healed himself of the ache on the back of his head and remained silent as he answered Yuki, "Nothing. I...tried to take a nap and didn't realize how I close I had lied to the edge of the bed and rolled off."

"Oh," Yuki sounded relieved. "May I enter?"

Neal looked to Kel, his eyes suddenly wide. "You have to hide," he whispered fervently. "She'll think I lied to her!"

Kel looked around and hurried under the bed. Neal adjusted the covers until it hung over most of Kel and finally opened the door, allowing Yuki access to the room. His eyes kept darting under the bed though, something he couldn't help but worry about. He half-listened to Yuki as she started telling him something about Dom until...

"He intends to make Kel his betrothed," she finished.

Neal's eyes went as wide as Kel's under the bed. "He..._what_?"

"He wants to marry Kel," she reiterated. She smiled. "Don't you find that wonderful? She'll belong in our family, Neal!"

Neal choked on his words, wheezing, trying to speak but having it come out incoherently. "He...ne...ha...si...co...ma...lo...ju...!" he tried. He finally took a deep breath and said, rather forcefully, "He can't marry Kel!"

Yuki, startled, frowned. "Why not?"

"He...just...he just can't! Kel...she...Dom...Dom can't marry her because he's my cousin and it would just...no. Just...no," he huffed.

"I thought you would rejoice for Kel," Yuki said quietly behind her Yamani mask.

"No," he growled. "Dom can't marry Kel."

Kalasin peeked her head in the door. "Yuki, Shinko wants to see you."

Yuki nodded. "Thank you." She looked up at Neal, face and eyes unreadable, and left the room, pausing at the doorway. "We need to talk about when to have the wedding some time."

Waiting until Kalasin and Yuki had disappeared in Shinkokami's room, Neal walked over and shut the door. He helped slide Kel out from underneath the bed, kissing her possessively. "He can't marry you," he told her softly, his arms encircling her waist tightly. "He just _can't_. I won't let him."

"You can't stop him, but I can," Kel reminded him. "But why would I deny him the satisfaction of marrying me if you'll just marry Yuki?"

"No, no, no. You see, I've been trying to tell you that I..." Neal stopped, waiting for the interruption. "I wanted to tell you that I'm..." he took a deep breath, looking at her with loving eyes. He kissed her again. "I'm in l--"

"Yer Grace, Cook needs ye," said a servant through the door.

"Knew it," he mumbled. "Gods-cursed trial..."

* * *

  
After tending to Shinko, Yuki had gone down to the parlor to think. She watched servants busy themselves going one thing or another and thought about Neal. They had made him duke of Queenscove. When she married him, she would become the duchess of Queenscove. At least, _if_ she married him. She knew Neal had done something and had hidden it from her, and she also had her suspicions about him and Kel.

"I thought he loved me," she murmured, walking over to one of the glass windows looking out over the rest of Queenscove. "He acted like he loved me. Did he ever really love me, though?" she tugged at one of the flaps of her kimono. "Did he ever really love me? That's a good question. One I cannot answer on my own. One only Neal can answer."

"Lady Yuki?" Dom asked from the foyer, not hearing most of her soft soliloquy.

"Yes?" Yuki turned to face him. "And I told you, you may call me just 'Yuki.'"

Dom nodded. "Right. Would you like to go for a walk with me? I can't find Kel and quite frankly you're the only other one I would want to do anything with."

Yuki smiled and said, "I would love to."

As Dom walked over to her and offered his arm, she thought about whether or not she should voice her fears to her betrothed's cousin. True, they _had_ grown closer when Neal and Kel had forsaken them for each other, but had they grown close enough for her to suggest something as outrageous as Neal and Kel having an affair right under their noses?

Yuki didn't realize that they had gone outside to a garden on the opposite side of the yard from the one where the funeral had taken place until the bitter cold chilled her to the bones. She shivered and found Dom's coat over her shoulders. He gave her a small smile and continued to walk in a comfortable silence with her.

However, Yuki had other plans.

"Have you..." she started but thought the better of it. _No, I shouldn't open my big mouth..._

"Have I what?" Dom asked, interest piqued.

_Well, now you've done it,_ Yuki scolded herself. "Have you noticed anything...strange about Kel or Neal lately?"

"Aside from all the secrecy and nervousness? No," Dom replied.

Sighing, Yuki drew Dom's coat closer around her. "I thought as much." They walked for a little longer in an awkward quiet. "Tell me I'm imaging things. Tell me I'm being silly, Dom."

"Do you want me to lie to you?" he asked seriously.

Pause. "No."

"I thought as much." He nodded, making a circle around the garden with her. "I wish I could tell you what you want to hear though, Yuki. I want to hear it myself."

"I wish..." she began quietly. She sighed and tried again. "I wish he had never gone off to look for Kel like that."

"She probably would have died if he hadn't," Dom answered.

"And it would have hurt him more than her disappearance," she murmured. "I just wish things were the way they used to be."

"Me too, Yuki. Me too."

* * *

  
Merric hung around in the kitchen, avoiding the servants and Cook by sitting on the large windowsill and watching them. Garvey sat near him, watching Cook and the servants as well. They just needed to wait for an opportunity to present itself. The Master, through Bardev, had given them a set of orders to execute. It involved the Lioness and the Bazhirs' Voice of the Tribes. It would rip the Royal Family apart; at least, the Master hoped it would. He had found this particular charm buried in the secrets of the Abscador Scroll, and knew it would bring him great joy to watch the Royal Family cast out the King. Then, they needed to take care of Roald, but that would come later. For now, they had to make sure that Jon and Alanna both drank a glass of wine with the powdery charm in it.

The Abscador Scroll was very valuable in many ways. The first and foremost being the fact that its magic _always_ went undetectable. The Abscador Scroll was written by a god and evoked the magic of the gods, therefore masking itself to the gods.

"This sucks," Merric said to Garvey. "When the hell do they have supper?"

"You dolt," Garvey informed him. "They'll serve supper in about an hour. Then we can slip this," he pulled two vials of fine, purple powder from his belt pouch, "into the Lioness's and the King's drinks."

"Do you know what it does?" Merric asked, taking one of the vials from Garvey.

"Not a clue," Garvey sighed. "I asked Bardev a million different ways and all he would say was, 'wait and see, the Master knows all.'"

"He didn't know either," Merric translated. "Damn. The Master wanted this really hidden well."

"The Master always wants secrecy," Garvey told him whimsically.

"Has anyone ever seen the Master?" Merric wanted to know, examining the powder in his vial. He popped off the top and sniffed it lightly.

"Definitely. Before he became the Master," Garvey admitted.

This intrigued Merric. "So, the Master isn't a god."

"No way," Garvey shrugged. "They will make him a god after the Aescili though, or so the Abscador Scroll says."

"The 'Aescili'?" Merric repeated. "Bardev never told me of any 'Aescili.'"

"The Rite of Ascension," Garvey told him mysteriously.

"What does _that_ entail?" he asked conversationally.

"A sacrifice," Garvey nodded. Merric had counted on Garvey's stupidity to surrender the answers he needed.

"Of what?" Merric pressed, hoping Garvey wouldn't suddenly realize that Merric had manipulated him.

"A virgin of royal heritage," he uttered in a far-off voice.

"Kalasin?" Merric whispered. Garvey nodded. "When does this need to happen?"

"'When the day and night become equal partners,'" he quoted.

"Will this happen in spring or autumn?" Merric persisted.

"Either one. The Master wants it done in the spring though, but we may not get to do so until the autumn," Garvey sounded disappointed. "We need the king and the Royal Family unsuspecting so we can just take Kalasin away quietly."

"To where?"

Garvey looked out the window at the descending twilight. He opened his mouth to answer and suddenly closed it, confusion clouding his eyes as he looked back at Merric. "They haven't told me."

The gears in the knight's head turned rapidly. Where could they hold a ceremony called the Aescili? He didn't even have any idea where the word "Aescili" came from, or why they would need a virgin princess to perform the Rite, or anything. Everything Bardev had told him thus far obviously rang of no truth and all lies, either that, or someone had tragically misinformed Garvey of Runnerspring.

Merric heard Cook ring the bell signalling everyone to sit down at the dining table and nudged Garvey. They nodded in unison and slipped into the Dining Hall, standing in a niche near the table. "I'll take Alanna, you take Jon."

Garvey nodded in agreement, a zealous look glazing over his eyes. That expression always frightened Merric just a little because he found Garvey's worship of the Master quite unnatural and very unnerving.

They watched the guests staying at Queenscove take their places at the table, along with the Duke and his mother. Servants brought glasses of brandy out to the guests, and Jon excused himself from the table for a moment. Garvey ran up and poured the vial into the glass, watching the fine purple substance dissolve into the brandy.

Merric, meanwhile, knocked over vase behind Alanna. When she jumped up to try and catch it before it smashed on the floor, he emptied his vial into Alanna's glass and darted back to his niche. Garvey took his time getting back to the niche, avoiding servants with a haughty smirk on his face. He joined Merric and leaned up against the wall, obviously satisfied with his handiwork. Merric, however, found his curiosity getting to him. What would happen when Alanna and Jonathan drank the powder? Would Alanna detect it? She had become famous for her detection of sorcery, but sorcery of the Abscador Scroll variety had yet to be discovered by the first lady knight of the realm in centuries. After all, Merric and Garvey had walked right past her and she hadn't sneezed and her Goddess token hadn't glowed.

"They didn't tell you what this does?" Merric asked, hardly containing the butterflies in his stomach. He worried for Alanna and Jon, but at the same time he found himself entirely too curious as to what sort of sorcery this would perform.

"No, I told you already. I asked Bardev a million different ways and all he would say was, 'wait and see, the Master knows all.' Which basically meant he knew about as much as we know," Garvey replied, his voice bubbling with excitement. "Oh, I can't wait!"

Merric felt a pit in his stomach. He waited anxiously while everyone ate, watching while Neal and Kel snuck discreetly loving glances at one another, resisting the urge to pace. Merric saw one of two things happening when Kel leaked that he had been made a tool of the Master: they would hail him as a courageous hero, or, they would hang him for high treason to the the king, the Royal Family, and the realm of Tortall. He could envision the latter more than the former, and that made the pit in his stomach grow bigger.

They wouldn't hang Kel if he betrayed her identity. She hadn't gone after him to try and save him, and she hadn't done a _thing_ to suggest that she had tried to betray Tortall. The Abscador Scroll had, unfortunately, played right into the Master's hands, and she had not had to do anything to break the law.

"Do you know how long it will take for the powder to start working?" he asked edgily.

"An hour after they drink it," Garvey said with certainty. "That I remember."

"Great."

"Yes. Very much so!"

* * *

  
Garvey and Merric stuck to Alanna and Jon like glue. Alanna had started out talking with Neal, Neal's mother, and Kel at first, and had slowly made her way over to Jon. He, also, had started out talking with his wife and his two children, but had made his way slowly over to Alanna. They now talked and laughed and, shamelessly, flirting. No one paid any mind to them though, apparently this had grown into somewhat of a custom for them when they found themselves off palace grounds. Usually, they had a sort of teasing way of flirting. However, Merric and Garvey saw it for what it truly was--real flirting.

"Great Mithros," Merric suddenly said. "That powder..."

"It made them..." Garvey continued, realizing what it had done at the same time.

"...Want each other as more than friends," Merric finished. _At least Garvey has some semblance of intelligence, unlike when he hung out with Joren._

They followed Alanna and Jon out to the guest dormitory. They laughed and flirted the whole way out.

"Jon! You know I hate the cold," Alanna said playfully, hugging her arms around her. "The snow makes me so cold."

"Well, come here, Lioness," Jon replied, just as playfully. He wrapped his strong arms around Alanna's small body and held her to him as they entered the dormitory.

Merric and Garvey ran to catch up, slipping just inside the door as it closed. They had already turned the corner to go up the stairs, though, so the duo serving the Master had to sprint to find them.

"Jon!" Alanna squealed.

He had pinned her against the wall and had started whispering something to her. Her cheeks turned as red as her hair and she hit his shoulder, but he caught her hand and captured her lips in the same movement.

Merric and Garvey retreated.

"Holy _shit_," Merric stated.

Garvey snorted. "I think 'holy _fuck_' suits this situation better."

"Holy _fuck_," Merric restated.

"Better." Garvey nodded. "...Merciful Mother, this will rip the Royal Family apart if they go past kissing."

"If? If?!" Merric repeated. "You fool, Alanna's infamous for her bed-hopping!"

Garvey laughed. "True. Wonder if they went to her room yet?"

Merric peeked around the corner. They, obviously, didn't have the danger of getting caught unless someone ran into them, but they didn't want to watch the Champion and the King make out in the hallway. They had better things to do with their time. "Well, they seem to want to get to her room but don't have the willpower."

Garvey froze.

"What? What is it, Garvey?" Merric shoved his arm.

"'And two chosen will bear a child, and in His name He will claim the child as His heir,'" Garvey quoted again.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Merric grabbed the man from Runnerspring by the collar and shoved him against the wall.

"The Abscador Scroll had a prophecy in it. In fact, the Abscador Scroll itself _is_ a prophecy. It includes spells to aide the prophecy. You and I, the Master chose us for his messengers. I thought that the 'two chosen' were him and Kel, but..." he stopped and looked around the corner, shuddering at what he saw. He led Merric to the door and opened it, letting it shut with a bang a couple moments later. "I think they'll have a child, and the Master will name it his heir."

Merric let this sink in. "Nine months from now is...July. I guess the Master has his sights set on the autumn equinox then, hm?"

"I guess so..."

* * *

  
"Did anyone see where Alanna went?" Neal asked after she had gone absent for an hour.

Thayet frowned. "I haven't seen Jon since he talked to her."

"Maybe Jon went to bed early?" Buri suggested. "Or Alanna did."

"I think I saw them leave together," Gary spoke.

"Oh." Everyone relaxed. Well, as long as Jonathan and Alanna had gone off somewhere together, they would fare all right. They just liked to talk, and maybe they had something important to discuss. Regardless, the answer satisifed everyone.

Neal's mother left abruptly, without saying goodnight to anyone. Neal frowned. He knew his mother didn't feel well and he had tried to sneak herbs or other medicine into her food but she always found it and ordered Cook to make her a new meal. She apparently had no desire to go on living, but Neal kept trying. The day before (the day after the funeral, October 15), he had sneaked into his mother's room and healed some of the black cloud of death sitting in her chest. He saw the improvement the following morning, October 16. She sat a little straighter at the dining table and spoke more often than she had the day before. Neal resolved to sneak into her room again that night and heal a little more of the cloud away. He would at least prolong the time she had left to live, if not completely cure her of the black cloud. Part of it was natural, that part he couldn't heal, but the rest of it was just the desire not to live any long and lack of proper nutrients on her part.

Neal watched as everyone started to trickle back to their rooms, soon leaving only himself and Kel in the parlor.

"Goddess," Kel said, sighing. He sat down on a chair and found Kel in his lap moments later. "This seems more tiring that knight training."

Neal chuckled, folding his arms around her waist as she curled up against him. "Quite true. And as duke of Queenscove, I'll need to put up with this a lot. I wonder how Father did it?"

"A steward," Kel mumbled against him.

"You sound sleepy," he murmured. He heard a small affirming noise from her and lifted her from his lap, an arm under her shoulders and an arm under her legs. He carried her upstairs and deposited her on her bed. "Goodnight, love," he said softly, kissing her gently and extinguishing all of the candles but one in her room. He then left, closing the door on his way out, and let himself into his own room after making sure everyone had safely gotten into bed.

Jon had magically shown up in his own bed after two and a half hours of absence. He nor Alanna would remember their brief tryst until Alanna's third trimester. By then it would be too late for them to do anything about the child. They would have it for two months, and then, on September 23 of the next year, the Master would claim the infant as his heir.

Neal and Kel had no knowledge of this passing. As far as Kel knew, the Master had decided to leave her alone, and she would revel in it for as long as she could.

* * *

  
The next morning, October the seventeenth, Alanna woke up and sneezed. She rolled out of bed and washed her face in the icy cold basin of water sitting by her window and sneezed again. Looking around the room warily, she murmured one word: "Sorcery." And sneezed again.

Fumbling for her ember stone, Alanna reached for her sword with the other hand. As soon as she gripped the stone, her urge to sneeze suddenly vanished. Frowning, Alanna sighed. She saw no magic and felt no sorcery. The moment she released the ember stone, though, she sneezed three times in a row.

Gary knocked on her door and asked her if she was all right.

"Yes. I think I've caught a cold, or something," Alanna answered, sneezing again.

"I see. Usually when you sneeze so much, you've found sorcery afoot," Gary said.

"True. But I don't see any," she told him. "Don't worry, go back about your business. Shouldn't you head back to Cythera soon?"

Gary chuckled. "Yes. Cythera and our little one. I'll leave tomorrow, I think."

"Take Raoul and Buri with you," she called after him. "And Myles!"

Gary paused on his way to his room and replied, "Anyone else?"

"No. You, Raoul, Buri, and Myles need to head on out. Now leave, Gary! I want to get dressed," Alanna ordered. She heard Gary retreat and hurriedly dressed, spelling her clothes for warmth.

She hurried out into the main hall of the dormitory, dashed out into the snow, and came, shivering, to the door to the main body of the castle. Once inside, she slipped into the only seat by the hearth left: the one by Jonathan. Of course, she knew nothing of what had transpired the evening prior, and would have no idea until much later. Regardless, when she sat down next to him, she sneezed three times in a row, and cursed like a foot soldier.

"Alanna?" Jonathan asked worriedly. He held a hand to her forehead. "You don't feel like you're running a fever or anything..."

She pulled away from him, drawing her coat further around herself. "I hate the snow. I hate the snow. Why didn't you remind me that Queenscove always snows so gods-damned early?"

Jonathan chuckled. "I think you should go visit the Bloody Hawk for awhile, Lioness. By the time we get back to Corus, we'll only have a few weeks before it starts snowing there."

"I hate the snow. I hate the snow. I hate the snow," she went back to chanting. He shook his head and added his own warmth spell to Alanna's clothes, making her sneeze again. "Don't _do_ that!" she kicked him and proceeded to sink into her warm clothes.

"Ow!" Jon rubbed his shin. "That hurt."

"Gee, I'm sorry. My foot just wanted to meet your shin," Alanna told him scathingly.

"Grumpy," Jon muttered.

"Yes," Alanna agreed.

They fell silent. They didn't have to sit long in the quiet before Cook and the servants came to distribute the breakfasts among the guests. At the head of the table sat, as always, Neal's mother with Neal and Kel on either side of her, and the rest of the guests from there.

Merric and Garvey sat in their niche again. "So," Merric said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby," Garvey replied.

Merric had spent the better part of the previous night contemplating just how painfully they would kill him once they realized he had betrayed Tortall. He also thought about the prophecy that Garvey had shared with him, wondering just how long he had to decide whether the Master's death for him would suit him more honorably than a hanging for high treason.

"How long before she figures out she got pregnant?" Merric wondered aloud.

"I'd give it two weeks," Garvey estimated.

Merric nodded. "Yeah. Two weeks." Then, "We had better hope she sees George in the next two weeks."

Garvey laughed.

"Hey. Why haven't we had any orders concerning Kel lately?" Merric asked suddenly.

"I told you, the Master wants to make her his Queen. He won't hurt his Queen anymore than he has to," Garvey shrugged. "But if you want to mention the situation with her and Neal, well, I put his letter to his fiancee in the man who's courting Kel's bed."

Merric took a moment to process this. "You put Neal's letter to Yuki in Dom's bed? Why did you do _that_?"

"To cause trouble, of course," Garvey smirked. "About time to get that little bitch back for what she did to Joren."

"Don't call her a bitch," Merric glared at Garvey.

"I forgot you had befriended her," Garvey sighed. "You act a lot like one of us, so I just figured you had ditched the whole 'righteous hero' crap."

Merric rolled his eyes and fell silent.

* * *

  
Neal took Kel aside as she headed out to one of the rooms deep in the castle walls. She had taken to exploring the spacious structure, unlike the one at Mindelan, and found herself making a mental map. She flipped Neal over her shoulder when he grabbed her.

"Ow!"

"Oops," she said, aloof.

"You sound so sincere," he grumbled, rolling over and standing. "I have something I want to show you."

"What do you want to show me?" she asked as he took her hand and began to lead her through the Queenscove catacombs.

"It's a surprise."

She sighed and allowed him to lead her where he wanted. When they finally came to a halt, she found herself in complete darkness. "Neal? Where did you take me?"

"Hold on a second. You're less patient that Alanna," he told her. She saw several spots of green fire floating slowly away from Neal and when they halted, they illuminated the room with the wicks of the candles in which they lit.

Kel looked up, awed. She saw books shelves towering up against all the walls, a mural on the ceiling, and a lush carpet on the floor underneath her. It was a cozy little library. A case on the back on the wall presented swords from members of the Queenscove family long gone, along with various other trinkets: a set of gauntlets, a dagger in a golden sheath inscribed with the Queenscove coat-of-arms, and coins from other countries.

"This is beautiful," Kel breathed.

Neal looked at Kel, shut the door behind them, and hugged her from behind.

"Nowhere near as beautiful as you."

Kel blushed furiously and answered, "Flattery gets you nowhere."

He kissed her neck. "But it can get me you, can't it?"

"Neal!"

"Shut up and kiss me."

"Okay, fine. But I'm only doing it 'cause you want me too."

"Fine by me."


	14. Moonlit Trysts

**Moonlit Trysts**

Neal woke in the library that he had escorted Kel to the evening prior and found something soft and warm in his arms. Without opening his eyes, he tightened his arms around the warm thing and sighed contentedly.

"Having fun?"

Neal opened his eyes lazily and looked down at what he held in his arms. "Ack!" he cried, shoving the black and white cat off of his lap. Upon further inspection, however, Neal found the cat familiar. "...Where did _you_ come from?"

Kel, who stood in the open doorway, watched Neal curiously. She had purposely made a note of the common animals going in and out of the Queenscove castle, but she had never seen this one. It had a black and white coat with green, intelligent eyes. It looked almost as if it had come from the castle in Corus.

The cat purred and rubbed against Neal's arm, darted out of the room, and came back carrying a folded piece of parchment. Glancing at Kel with a bewildered expression, Neal warily accepted the parchment from the cat and stared at it. He scratched the cat's head and watched it. Suddenly, he recognized it. "Mace?" he murmured. Mace meowed at him and rubbed up against Neal's hand, then nipped at the parchment. "All right, all right! I'll read it, but only because you've gotten so insistent."

Opening the letter, Neal almost immediately recognized the handwriting. "It's Merric!" he said excitedly. "'Neal,'" he read. "'Don't read this letter aloud.' Oops. Too late." However, Neal read the rest of it silently. It went something like this:

_Neal,_

Don't read this letter aloud. I can't say much, but believe me when I say I wish I could be seen. Hopefully Mace has gotten this letter to you. Know that I haven't gotten harmed and I intend to stay that way. I have started spending time with "old friends." I took Mace to Corus and he spent some time with Daine, so now he can "speak" sort of. So if you want, you can send letters to me through Mace. He won't go far, but don't follow him.

-Merric

Neal folded the parchment in half and thanked Mace. He looked to Kel and shrugged. "He says he'll stay with old friends for awhile."

"Sounds good to me. I want to eat," Kel tugged on his arm. "I didn't want to show up without you."

Nodding, Neal slipped the letter into his pocket. He offered his arm to Kel and said, "M'lady."

Kel rolled her eyes and accepted his arm. A few moments later, Mace caught up to them and trotted next to Neal as he walked. "Where did you get the cat?"

"I found him in an inn while Merric and I had gone searching for you. Named him Mace," Neal explained. "He left with Merric the day I found you, and...now he came back."

Kel abruptly found herself in the dining hall, noting that a few of the guests at Queenscove had switched places. Suddenly, she frowned and released Neal's arm. "Who hasn't shown up yet?"

Jonathan answered her question from his rather comfortable chair situated by the hearth, Alanna and Thayet on either side of him. "Sir Myles, Lord Raoul, Lady Buri, and Duke Gary left just after breakfast."

Neal surveyed the guests then, rewriting the list mentally. King Jonathan, Queen Thayet, Prince Roald, Princess Shinko, Princess Kalasin, the Lioness, Yuki, Dom, Kel, himself, and his mother. "Dom."

Dom looked up. "Huh?"

"You uncultured slob," Neal sighed. "Did your family leave?"

"Yep," Dom nodded, leaning back. He had taken to speaking with a commoner's accent. "I ought to get off meself."

Slapping a hand to his forehead, Neal took Kel over to their seats by his mother, Yuki, the Royal Family, and Alanna. Dom moved a little closer to Neal. Kel's parents had gone back to Mindelan in an effort to escape getting caught in the snow on the way through Corus. Their party had diminished somewhat.

"Well. This seems cozy," Neal's mother remarked. "I think I'll go off to my rooms now."

"Mother--" Neal started to protest, rising when she did.

However, she held out one pale, willowy hand and he froze in his tracks. "Nealan, do eat with our guests. A good duke always serves hospitably." She lowered her hand, turned, and began up the stairs. "And Nealan?"

"Yes, Mother?" he asked, trying his hardest not to grit his teeth at the name she had given him.

"Do not enter my rooms uninvited," she intoned, and disappeared up the stairs.

Closing his eyes, Neal sank back into his seat. "I apologize for her," he muttered, though everyone heard. "She has resigned as duchess yet she grieves for my father still. In the process she seems to have lost all common sense and proper manners."

The group didn't care though, spying Cook and the servants parading out with the divinely delicious supper. Soon supper went into full swing.

The guests talked amongst themselves, and frequently Neal held Kel's hand under the table. He would have to tell her soon. He would have to tell Yuki they couldn't get married and he would have to tell Kel that he loved her so insanely more than Yuki it almost scared him.

However, it would be private talk, not public conversation.

As soon as everyone had finished their supper, they moved off into the parlor as usual. Alanna and Jonathan seemed much closer nowadays, especially since coming to Queenscove together. Thayet began to suspect something had happened, but wouldn't confront it because she refused to let herself believe that Jonathan had betrayed her.

A little later on, Yuki watched Neal slip out of the parlor, followed ten minutes later by Kel. Shaking her head, she walked out into the gardens, finding Dom leaning again a wall, his eyes focused on the retreating forms of his cousin and almost-ex-girlfriend. "Good evening, Dom," she greeted him.

Dom nodded. "Evening."

Silence nestled between them. Yuki almost spoke again but thought the better of it. Nonetheless, Dom thought to speak as well.

"I don't like this."

"Don't like what?" Yuki wanted to know.

"Them and what they do," he didn't have to explain who he meant by "them": Neal and Kel. "They always disappear right after meals and walk in together. Kel belongs on _my_ arm, as you belong on Neal's. But everyday, almost every waking moment we can find one with the other." He looked at her, his eyes wild and desperate. "Has he even kissed you fully since you came here?"

Yuki looked down and refused to even acknowledge the question.

"I thought as much," Dom sighed. He slipped the letter from Neal to Yuki out of his pocket and contemplated sharing it with Yuki. No, he wouldn't break her heart like that, not unless he had to. Back into his pocket went the letter. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "I have an idea."

Yuki looked up. "Oh? An idea for what?"

"An idea to make them notice us again," Dom grinned. He looked around them to make sure no one stood nearby. Unnoticed to them, of course, Garvey of Runnerspring and Merric of Hollyrose stood on opposite sides of Dom and Yuki. "We'll do it like this. _We'll_ act like we have forsaken them for each other, and if _that_ doesn't get their attention, nothing will."

Yuki's heart fluttered in her ribcage nervously. "What do you mean? Hold hands and...kiss..." she blushed at that, "in public?"

Dom nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"

Punching Garvey on the arm, Merric scolded him, "You fool."

Garvey punched him back. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Because I find you utterly lacking any intelligence at all," Merric growled.

Garvey punched him again and turned back to Yuki and Dom. Dom had talked Yuki into agreeing while he had argued with Merric, and Yuki latched onto Dom's arm and walked into the castle with Dom. Running behind Dom and Yuki, Merric and Garvey yelled at each other the whole way. After just four days in Queenscove, tension already ran high between most of the guests. As it was, Alanna and Jonathan had done something irreversible, Kel and Neal sneaked off every chance they got to make out, and now Dom and Yuki had taken to pretending they had begun to court each other.

Not to mention that the Master's Aescili hung in the air, a constant threat, like blaring heat from the sun in the peak of summer in the desert.

Merric and Garvey found Dom and Yuki flirting in the parlor, the Royal Family and the Lioness watching them rather oddly, Shinkokami especially. She even went as far as to approach the lady who served as one of her attendants.

"Yuki?" she asked politely.

Yuki looked to Shinko. "Yes, milady?"

"This will not bode well," Merric muttered. "This won't bode well with anyone."

Shinko pulled Yuki aside with a quick apology to Dom and spoke to her attendant in a hushed voice, in Yamani. Neither Merric nor Garvey speaking Yamani, they could only guess that Shinko demanded to know why Yuki acted so strangely with Dom. Yuki had answered in equally as hushed tones, though her voice sounded a little indignant.

She returned to Dom shortly afterward, apologizing for the interruption.

Neal and Kel entered the parlor, laughing. Yuki and Dom siddled closer to each other, Yuki on Dom's arm.

Neither of them even noticed.

Discouraged, Yuki plopped down in a chair and looked up at Dom. "This won't work."

"Sure it will. Did you expect them to notice right off the bat? They've gotten too involved with each other right now to notice if a rock hit one of them in the head," Dom told her. Besides, he had liked having a woman on his arm again, a woman to flirt with.

Neal and Kel mingled until the others whisked off to their rooms, and Neal finally escorted Kel back to the library where he had taken her earlier.

From a small window just below the ceiling, moonlight streamed through and shone onto the carpet, illuminating the two best friends that had found a much deeper love for each other. They stood, kissing each other sweetly for a few moments before Neal finally pulled away.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

Kel froze, her arms around his neck. "What?" she asked, afraid to trust her ears.

Neal repeated himself. "I love you, Keladry of Mindelan. I've loved you for a long time, and I've finally had the courage enough to admit to you, and to myself. I love you. I'm totally, completely in love with you."

Kel stepped back from him and looked him in the eyes. "You love me?"

"Yes. Very much so," Neal nodded. "I know with the making out thing that you had probably guessed, but I just wanted to tell you myself."

That thought hadn't even entered Kel's mind. She hadn't exactly known why she had taken to making out with Neal in libraries, but it she hadn't guessed that he had loved her as anything more than his best friend or his sister. Her heart pounded forcefully, driving all other thoughts from her mind. She knew she wanted to tell him that she loved him back, but her mouth didn't want to cooperate. Instead, uninhibited, her mouth answered him. "I...I have to...I..."

Frowning, Neal reached out to touch her shoulder, only to find her jump back. "Kel?"

"I...uh..."

She ran around him, overcome with emotion, and ran up to her room.

That left Neal standing awkwardly in the middle of the small library, desolate moonlight shining on his forlorn image.

* * *

The eighteenth of October brought a sullen day. The sun shone ironically on the barren hearts of two knights, a sergeant, and a Yamani lady. Kel felt incredible guilt at having betrayed Yuki and Dom, and also felt her heart ache for Neal's. She had pretty much shattered his heart last night, that much she felt sure of; why couldn't she have told him that she loved him just as much as he did? And now he wouldn't even look at her when she looked at him.

Dom and Yuki seemed off in their own little world. Yuki kept casting nervous glances at Neal, who seemed so involved in his breakfast that he wouldn't speak a word to anyone. She felt guilty about fooling around with Dom, she felt like she had betrayed Neal and Kel.

Dom probably felt the least guilty out of all of them. He saw Neal's refusal to act normally and thought he deserved it, but his heart did feel terrible about the way Kel kept looking at them and at Neal.

Neal felt the worst. Kel had broken his heart by running out on him. He had felt so sure that she loved him and...she had run out on him. He felt bad about taking her from Dom, who she obviously preferred over him if she didn't love him. He felt absolutely horrible about treating Yuki so poorly, but he saw that he had pretty much lost her. He saw the way she had flirted with Dom the night before, and he saw the way she talked so animatedly with him. He felt terrible for himself, too. Not only had he lost his father the month before, his mother tettered on the edge of falling into death too. He had tried to heal her somewhat, but only so much of natural death would recede for his Gift.

And now...

...And now...

Neal stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. Everyone looked at him and he excused himself quietly, turning and walking away into the maze of rooms deep in the Queenscove castle. He wished he could just think away his problems, but he knew that the more he dwelled on this matter the more it would fester and drag him down. Neal didn't even realized when he entered the fusty morgue beneath Queenscove until he took a breath and almost choked on the dust.

"...Always seem to find my way to you when I need help, Father," he murmured, walking over to the plaque marking Duke Baird's existance. "I took your advice...I told Kel that I'm in love with her...and...she broke my heart, Father. I've lost Yuki, too. She's taken to Dom now. Everything's a mess..."

He sat down in front of the plaque, not caring that his breeches would appear obscenely dirty when he rose again. "You picked a hell of a time to die. I feel sort of weird talking to you like this, but...well, anyway. I don't know what to do now. I thought Kel loved me back. I know I should probably break up with Yuki...but maybe I won't feel so guilty if she breaks up with me first. If she doesn't come to me before we leave, I'll tell her once we get back to Corus. Does that sound good, Father?" he paused and watched the torches cast shadows on the walls. "It sounds good enough to me."

Neal sat there in silence for a few moments longer. "I think I've loved Kel since I met her. Maybe even before. I always had that ideal woman, didn't I, Father? Tall as me, maybe a little shorter, strong, good sense of humor...sounds like Kel to me. Yuki almost suited me, but I don't know what I thought when I decided to marry her. I can't stand this."

He got up and patted the plaque. "Thanks for hearing me out, Father."

Neal turned and left the morgue, heading outside. He entered the stables, walking up and down the stalls, pausing at each horse and saying hello to them. He wanted to distract himself from the subject formost in his mind, but he didn't think he could. He could already see the sun shining horribly outside. _Must be noon,_ he decided, saddling up a horse. _I have enough time to take a ride, even though I should probably eat lunch with them. I don't feel like dealing with them right now._

After saddling Skunk, the horse he had bought from the wayhouse-keeper, he led the horse out onto the barely visible trail.

An hour must have passed, because Neal began to feel the chill of the snow creeping into his bones and Skunk began to falter in his step. As soon as he turned to head back to the stables, he saw someone on a horse galloping towards him. He recognized the horse and the rider soon enough, and turned the other way. He didn't want to talk to Kel right now. He had convinced himself that if she sought him out now, she only wanted to apologize for running out and gently break it to him that she didn't love him that way.

"Neal!" Kel called.

He kicked Skunk into a canter.

"Neal!" Kel yelled again.

He urged Skunk onward.

"_Neal_!"

All too soon he heard thundering hooves behind him. He didn't want to push Skunk too hard, but he _really_ didn't want to talk right now.

"Neal," Kel panted, grabbing the back of his tunic. Her horse trotted to canter evenly with Skunk. "Didn't you hear me?"

He didn't reply.

She frowned. "Won't you talk to me?"

No answer.

"Neal, this is silly!" she cried. "I wanted to apologize to you!"

"And tell me that you don't love me," he muttered to himself.

Kel brought her horse in front of Neal. "What did you say?" she demanded.

"You want to tell me you don't love me," he repeated, a pit forming in his stomach. He refused to meet her eyes.

He found himself grabbed roughly by the front of the tunic, his face suddenly too close to Kel's. "Don't say that," she breathed. She kissed him deeply, hand still gripping the front of his tunic so she had control. When she pulled away, they both breathed heavily. "Don't say that I don't love you, Neal. I'm sorry I ran away last night."

However, Neal noted that she had avoided telling him "I love you." She had kissed him and told him not to doubt her love, but she hadn't flat out told him. That would suffice...for now.

Neal shook his head. "It's all right. I know I kind of sprung that whole 'I love you' thing on you."

"Let's go eat, okay? Everyone sent me out to look for you."

* * *

  
Merric and Garvey played cards in the dining hall in their niche. Truth be told, they had turned into almost-friends, able to tolerate each other's presence and able to actually enjoy the other's company for a while.

"I miss Jeraldine," Merric sighed.

"Jeraldine?" Garvey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Jeraldine," Merric nodded. "I win." He collected the cards from the floor, shuffled them, and  
dealt them out.

"Do you want to elaborate on Jeraldine?" Garvey inquired.

"Not particularly," Merric denied.

They played in quiet for a little while longer, before Merric interrupted the silence by saying, "I win again."

He re-dealt the cards. Garvey took his share and said, "I have a betrothed."

"You do?" Merric tried not to sound surprised.

"Yes," Garvey nodded. "She lives in Persopolis."

"A commoner?" Merric wanted to know.

"Didn't imagine me one for a commoner, did you?" Garvey asked, laughing embarrassedly.

Merric laughed with him. "Actually, I did. I hope to make Jeraldine my betrothed, and if you  
tell Bardev that I will cut your tongue out with my dagger. Understood?"

"Perfectly. And if you tell Bardev about Aleesa, I'll do the same," Garvey threatened.

"Fair enough," Merric nodded. "I win again."

"Cheater," Garvey grumbled.

"I don't cheat," Merric replied evenly as Neal and Kel entered the dining hall. He tossed a glance at the four in question and raised an eyebrow. "Especially not like them. Not to mention Jeri would kill me if she ever found out."

"Aleesa would kill me too," Garvey agreed. "How the hell can they do that to each other?"

"I would feel horrible," Merric continued. "I didn't know Neal had it in him--Kel, especially. Or is it that Kel has Neal in her?"

Garvey guffawed at that. "Merric!"

Merric smirked. "Bad company I keep, I suppose."

Garvey's guffawing simmered into chuckles. "I guess so."

They fell into comfortable silence until Garvey crowed his victory and dealt the cards. He won again, and Merric accused him of cheating, and they traded a few half-hearted punches before resuming their card game.

"The Master wants to keep his Aescili pretty secret, doesn't he?" Merric asked conversationally.

Garvey nodded. "Only those in his top ranks know about it. I don't think he even told Kel, as he only wanted to use her to get his Scroll back. Did you know that he sold it to some traveler who sold it to some other traveler who sold it to the Bazhir? I guess the traveler ran into you because you somehow wound up with the map."

"I guess," Merric agreed. "So..."

Garvey didn't answer, except for, "I win again."

Merric sighed.

* * *

  
Before anyone knew it, the afternoon turned into evening and everyone found themselves in the parlor at the customary after-supper social. Neal and Kel didn't seem at odds anymore, but Dom and Yuki still kept up their charade of trying to look like they had begun to court one another. Neal kept an eye on them, and flinched when Dom kissed Yuki's forehead.

Kel wandered out into the brisk October air, half-expecting someone to follow her. She found herself alone though, staring up at the sky, half-obscured by incoming snow clouds. She watched the stars and the moon, noting how much more of the sky she could see when not in Corus.

She leaned back and found her waist encircled by warm, safe arms and her head resting on a familiar shoulder. "Hello."

"Hullo, darling," drawled Neal. He planted a soft kiss on her neck.

"Don't you ever check to see if anyone's around?" Kel asked half-heartedly, snuggling back into Neal's embrace.

"Sure," he murmured. "I did before I came up behind you. Besides, Dom and Yuki have become so wrapped up in each other they won't care what we do."

Kel sighed. "I could stay like this forever."

"If we stayed like this forever, we'd die frozen," Neal replied.

"Neal!" Kel cried, rolling her eyes.

"I only speak the truth, love," he answered.

She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I really would like to stay in your arms forever."

"Didn't fancy you one for the 'forever' business," he told her softly.

"Shut up," she commanded, and silenced him with a kiss.

Dom watched from doorway.


	15. Momentum

**Momentum**

Two days passed, and on the evening of the twentieth of October, Dom finally couldn't stand keeping Yuki in the dark about Neal and Kel. She deserved to know, and keeping it bottled up had started to take its toll on him. So that evening, he took Yuki aside and took out the letter from Neal to her, and handed it to her.

Yuki let the parchment flutter to the floor after she read the sentence about his love for Kel. "I knew it."

Dom scooped down and picked it up, slipping it back into his pocket. "I watched the two of them kiss for awhile for the past two days."

Yuki shut her eyes tightly, trying to block the impending flow of tears. It didn't work. As soon as they began to trail down her cheeks, she curled herself against Dom's chest. "I can't believe this," she said softly, sniffling furiously. He felt his tunic dampen. "I can't believe it..."

Dom hesitantly embraced her, stroking her silky black hair. "Sorry, Yuki," he whispered. "I didn't want to tell you..."

"Then why didn't you lie to me?" she cried, looking up at him with a face so distraught that Dom's heart immediately sank to his feet. When he looked away, she buried her head in his tunic again. "I hate this...I hate this!"

In response, Dom just tightened his arms around her slim body. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I really didn't. I couldn't let it go on anymore...with you not knowing. He didn't look like he would tell you any time soon..."

Yuki bunched the sleeves of his tunic almost at the shoulder and looked up at him. They hadn't shared a kiss yet, and Dom was suddenly very aware of this. He knew, logically, that he shouldn't have thoughts of her porcelain white skin underneath her kimono parading through his head, or the way she moistened her soft bright red lips with the barest tip of her tongue...

His heart thumped in his chest, demanding he do something to stop the thoughts in his head. He had had, in steadily increasing amounts, thoughts he shouldn't have about Yuki. He guessed that somewhere in the past few weeks he had kindled something, and when he suggested that they act like they had started courting, he really had started courting her.

"Dom?" Yuki asked, her voice soft but hoarse.

This startled him from his thoughts. "Yes?" he replied, finding that, much to his horror, his voice had grown hoarse as well.

Her almond-shaped eyes searched his. And, barely loud enough for him to hear: "Take the pain away."

Dom knew what she meant. He nodded and his lips found home with hers for a long moment before he led her out to his dormitory room.

* * *

In the morning of the following day, the twenty-first of October, Neal arrived first in the dining hall for breakfast. Usually, he sat down first, followed closely by Kel, then Neal's mother who almost stepped on Kel's heels in her entrance to the dining hall. He smiled as Kel came in, glanced around, gave her a quick peck on the lips and sat down. However, his mother failed to enter the dining hall then. The rest of the guests proceeded inside in order of their usual arrival, but Neal's mother never came. Worried, Neal excused himself and dashed up the stairs to his mother's room.

He didn't bother to knock and simply let himself in. "Mother?"

She looked up at Neal from her place in the bed. "Neal."

"Do you feel well?" Neal frowned, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the bed.

She studied him for a moment, face hard. Sighing, her unreadable face fell into something more open. "I fear my death draws near, my son."

Neal took his mother's hand and found the cloud he had worked so hard at pushing back had grown even faster. Pushing up his sleeves, he drew a slender tendril of his Gift and picked up his mother's hand, leading it to the black cloud.

However, his mother protested and drew her hand back. "Nealan," she said sharply. "You know better than to tamper with the gods' work."

Neal hung his head. "Mother...I don't want you to die. I lost Father already..."

She raised her hand to cup his chin and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I've already retired. You've inherited the fief, my boy. You may as well address yourself as Sir Duke Nealan of Queenscove now. The steward answers to you, I know already."

"Very well then," Neal said as he took his mother's hand in both of his. "If you won't allow me to care for you, I'll get the finest healer in Tortall now to tend to anything unnatural. You want to see your first grandchild, don't you?"

His mother's face lit up. "Yuki is pregnant?"

"Well, er, no," Neal told her. "Yuki and I have...parted ways. I plan to...well...marry Kel if she'll have me."

His mother's face lost none of the glow it had gained. "She's a good girl, that Kel. A bit mad, but a good girl. You take care of her and she'll take care of you."

"Always," Neal promised. He kissed his mother's hand and tucked her in. "Get some rest, Mother. I'll come check on you in an hour or two, all right?"

"Neal, I don't need watched like an infant," his mother huffed.

Neal rolled his eyes. "I'll see you in a little bit, Mother."

After he returned the dining hall, he quickly ate his breakfast and resolved to take care of some of the things gone neglected since his return.

* * *

Alanna sat by the hearth in the parlor, staring into the fire with glazed eyes. Jonathan nearly scared her half to death when he placed a hand on her shoulder and asked if she felt all right.

"I think I'm...with child," she confided quietly. "I can't figure out how, though. I haven't seen George since Duke Baird died, and it's been even longer since we..." she trailed off. She looked at Jonathan, seeing his concern. "I haven't been with anyone else."

Jonathan sat on the arm of the chair and thought. "Are you sure you didn't make love with George before Duke Baird passed away?"

"Absolutely," Alanna sighed. "And I wear my pregnancy charm when we do."

"Quite a mystery," Jonathan murmured. He held a hand to Alanna's stomach lightly, finding that Alanna was, indeed, pregnant. He couldn't, however, tell who the father was or how much it had grown. "I'd say that you conceived this child within the past two or three weeks. It isn't very big, not large enough to be a month old."

Alanna nodded. "I know that the only viable father of this baby is George. I haven't slept with anyone else recently."

However, they both felt that she had lied. They couldn't figure out why, but they had the vaguest intuition that she hadn't simply slept with George these past few weeks.

"In a few more weeks, we can tell how old the fetus is and who fathered it," Jonathan murmured. He couldn't shake the disturbing feeling that he had something to do with this conception. He found the thought quite ludicrous, seeing as how he hadn't made love with Alanna for...a long time.

Alanna nodded again, growing quiet.

"Good morning, your Majesty, Lioness," Neal said cheerily.

"What the hell happened to you to make you so...chipper?" Alanna asked suspiciously.

Neal shrugged. "Nothing," he said innocently. "You both look sort of stressed. Do you want me to have Cook make some tea?"

"Sure," Jon answered.

"No," Alanna said at the same moment.

Neal regarded them apprehensively. "I'll have Cook put a kettle to boil and bring some in for you."

Jonathan agreed, "That sounds great, Neal."

"Anything for my liege. Oh, before I go--have either of you seen Dom or Yuki? I can't find them anywhere," Neal explained.

"I saw them go out to the dorms," Alanna offered.

"Lovely," Neal murmured. "Thank you, Alanna," he said as he bowed out. After asking Cook to prepare a kettle and tea for the Lioness and the King, Neal set out to find Kel. He didn't have to look long, however. He found her in the stables, up in the hayloft, speaking with one of the hostlers and playing with some puppies. "Hullo there, lady knight."

"Hullo yourself, ducal knight," Kel answered, peering over the edge of the hayloft. She offered him a smile he had seen her give no one else.

"Toss me down the ladder, will you?" Neal asked. The hostler dropped the ladder down from the edge of the hayloft and Neal joined them. "So. Whose puppies do we have here?"

A small brown puppy splotched with lighter and dark brown, black, and white patches ran up to Neal, wagging its tail. It soon took monopoly on Neal's finger and began to chew. "'Tis me own Esmeralda," the hostler told Neal proudly. "Esmeralda!" he called, whistling. A larger brown dog, a little smaller than Jump, trotted over to the hostler. She had white legs with a dark brown body. Her tail had black and lighter brown splotches, with a face that matched its body with one spot of black around one eye. "Tis me own Esmeralda," the hostler repeated. "Esmeralda, say hello to these nice folks."

Esmeralda barked happily and wagged her tail.

"Good lass," the hostler scratched Esmeralda's head.

Neal smiled and stole a glance at Kel. She had taken an affinity to one of the puppies, a sheer black one with a solitary white ear and light brown paws. He looked to the hostler and said softly, "Do you plan to keep all of these pups?"

The hostler looked at Kel for a moment and gave Neal a knowing look. "All 'em that don't get attached to others."

"It's settled then. Kel, you can keep that puppy," Neal told her. The hostler grinned toothily at his overlord and rounded up the rest of the puppies.

"Oh...Alixander...you don't..." Kel tried to refuse.

"No buts 'bout it," Alixander waved it off. "Ye may keep the pup, Lady Knight. T'ain't got room enough for all 'em anyway."

Kel smiled gratefully at Alixander and Neal and hugged the puppy. "Well. From now on, you'll come traveling with me."

Neal nodded to Alixander, who just winked. "Now, Lady Kel, I've got some work that needs tendin' to, and I ain't got more time to dally with the pups."

"Right. We'll get out of your way. Come on, Neal," Kel tucked the puppy in the front of her tunic and climbed down the ladder. Neal followed her closely and found himself pulled aside into the shadows. "Thank you," she whispered and kissed him fiercely. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he murmured. "What will you name it?"

"Well," Kel said, leading him out of the shadows. "Since she's female, I thought maybe I would name her after my grandmother."

"She looks like 'Muddy' to me," Neal replied.

"You named a horse 'Skunk,'" Kel told him scathingly. "I won't take any naming advice from _you_."

"But Skunk really _does_ look like a skunk. And your pup looks like she rolled in the mud 'cause of the one white ear," Neal defended his naming choices. "And _you_ named your dog 'Jump.'"

Kel glared at him. She took a look at the puppy and held her out in front of her. "Do you like the name 'Muddy'?"

The puppy whimpered.

"See?" Kel stuck her tongue out at Neal.

"Don't do that or I'll just have to kiss you in public," Neal warned.

Kel rolled her eyes. "Anyway." She traced the brown ring around the puppy's eye that Neal hadn't noticed before. "How about...Justice?"

The puppy wagged her tail at that.

"Or how about Sunday?" Neal added.

The puppy gave Neal a look that obviously said he was crazy.

"Justice it is," Kel decided.

* * *

Lunchtime seemed abnormally quiet. Neal kept glancing shadily in Dom and Yuki's direction and tossing small smiles at Kel and the puppy sitting between them. Alanna kept quietly grumbling to herself, and Jonathan and the rest of the Royal Family kept pretty much silent because of the lack of noise from the rest of the table.

"I think we should all go back to Corus tomorrow," Jonathan said suddenly.

"I second the motion," Alanna agreed.

Neal cocked his head to the side. "I suppose we have stayed here for a week...a week for a kingdom to last without its Royal Family in the capital could prove disastrous."

"Just slightly," Jonathan answered wryly. He tossed a glance in his wife's direction and winked. "Besides, I miss everyone there. I trust those I put in charge to do right by the citizens and handle anything that comes their way--"

A royal courier ran breathlessly into the dining hall. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Jonathan stood, knocking his chair backwards. "Necess?"

Necess the Royal Courier bowed to the King of Tortall. "Your Majesty, here." Necess handed an envelope to Jonathan.

"Sit," Jonathan ordered absently, holding his chair up for Necess.

Necess obliged as Jon read through the parchment inside. He paled and whispered, "Gods."

Alanna rose and approached him. "Jon?"

He wordlessly handed her the paper and sat in the chair Necess now offered him.

"Great Gods!" Alanna cried, loosing a string of swears she must have learned from her husband shortly after. "How in the hell could this happen?"

Justice barked at them but quieted at the scathing look Alanna gave her. She ducked behind Kel's leg as her new master rose. "Your Majesty?"

"Jon, should she read it?" Alanna asked.

Jonathan nodded. "Yes, let her read it. She'll have to find out sooner or later."

Feeling her stomach drop to her feet, Kel took the letter from her once-idol and read it. "No," she whispered. She looked helplessly at Alanna. "No...how...?"

Garvey nudged Merric nearby. "Go see what happened!"

"Me?! Why _me_?!" Merric demanded.

"Because!" Garvey insisted.

Grumbling, Merric trudged over to Kel and read the letter over her shoulder. He came back to Garvey, sullen-faced. "Mindelan was attacked. The only ones that survived were in the very heart of the castle there--Kel's parents, some relatives, and a few servants. The rest either got hacked to pieces or burned to death. After the attackers left, Kel's father found a message burned into the shutters on Kel's window. It said, 'To my sweet: The time for our joining draws near. Meet with our link in our place for further conversation. Love: the master of your heart.' They think it's a message for Kel...it's from the Master, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, you fool. 'Master of your heart'? Please, it's worthy of Kennan," Garvey scoffed. "It probably wouldn't surprise me, really, if the Master used a few of Kennan's lines for the message."

"He'll try to frame Cleon, then," Merric decided.

"Most likely," Garvey agreed.

"Lovely. Just lovely," Merric commented. "Which of us will he target next? And anyway, I thought you said the Master would try to hurt Kel as little as possible."

"I see what he wants now," Garvey observed. "He wants to show Kel that he is the only option for her. He tried to kill her parents...perhaps he left them alive for a reason? Or perhaps the raiders he sent didn't finish the job...regardless, the raiders will _really_ hear it from the Master when he gets his hands on them."

"Why do the raiders get to see the Master and we don't?" Merric asked suddenly.

"Seeing the Master in person means death, unless you've done something great for him. Then he'll want to congratulate you in person," Garvey explained. "I don't even think Kel saw him. Kel...I don't think she knows what he has planned for her either. Heh, surprise, Kel dearest."

* * *

The group set out for Corus the next morning, not wanting to get stranded somewhere in the middle of the night. Alanna rode in front, Dom on one side, Roald on the other, with Kel, Justice, and Neal bringing up the rear. Merric and Garvey rode just behind Dom.

"Great Merciful Mother, Neal," Kel said quietly. "Why Mindelan?"

"Someone you know must have done it. I certainly didn't do it, Dom didn't do it, and I don't think Cleon would have done it, no matter how much 'master of your heart' sounds like his work," Neal guessed. "So who else does that leave? Merric, who mysteriously disappeared? Or someone else?"

"Someone else," Kel said forcefully. "Merric would never betray us like that."

"True," Neal agreed. "But who else do we know? Prosper, Owen? Gods, Owen! For the love of...who did this?"

_The master of your heart,_ Kel repeated in her mind. _The...master...of your heart. The Master. Great Merciful Mother..._

She glanced around, glaring at her surroundings. Justice barked on her lap, shaking her tail and trying to nip on Kel's fingers. Absently, she fished a piece of sturdy leather that Alixander had given her before they left and let Justice teethe on it. "Neal," she sighed, looking up at him.

Worried, Neal held a hand out to her. "What?"

Looking at his hand and then at his worried face, she suddenly realized she couldn't tell him anything without bringing him under the Master's terrible scrutiny. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing."

Frowning, Neal watched her for a moment before looking forward. "If you say so."

They didn't bother stopping at a wayhouse or an inn and set up camp in between the fiefs of Justicecreek and High Rise, despite the fact that they had Shinko and Yuki with them. They set up sentry shifts two at a time, one placed on the opposite side of the camp from the other. They didn't expect anyone to try and attack them, but with Mindelan having been burned to the ground and Kel with them, they didn't want to take too little precaution. Yuki, Shinko, and Kalasin were the only three not assigned for sentry duty. Shinko and Yuki both argued that they could fully well use a glaive, but Roald had gently pointed out that neither of them were knights and neither of them rode with the Queen's Riders. Kalasin had decided to make things easier on her parents, the knights, and the sergeant from the King's Own that they rode with. She bade them good night and settled into her bedroll as soon as the sentries took up their posts.

Jonathan had drawn up the sentry schedule: first, he and Alanna; second, Thayet and Roald; third, Kel and Neal; fourth, Dom and himself. Each sentry team would serve for two hours and rest. The sentries on duty--Jonathan and either Dom or Alanna--would wake the others at dawn. They would eat, pack up, and go on the road again.

During Neal's shift, he kept glancing at the eerily silhouetted Kel. He had never quite seen her in the moonlight like this, so beautiful yet unattainable. All he had to do was call her name and she would come to him, but she looked so much like a goddess he half expected her to snub him. He didn't want to bring her down from the pedestal she stood on, silhouetted in the moonlight as she was.

She came over to him. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and resting her cheek against his shoulder.

"Hi," he said, his voice raspy from his lack of use thus far.

"Hi," she answered. Justice danced around their feet, then curled up on Kel's bedroll and fell asleep.

"Do you need something?" he whispered.

"I have a question," she whispered back.

"Oh?" he wanted to know.

"Are you going to marry Yuki when we get back?" she asked.

Neal felt the bottom of his stomach drop to his feet. "I...I don't think so. But I haven't told her about...us...yet."

Kel pulled away from him and stepped in front of him, scanning his eyes for something. "You said you loved me."

"And I do!" he assured her. "But...I don't know how to break it to her."

Kel looked to the ground. "Yeah...I _do_ feel horrible about this..."

"I'll tell her in the morning."

Kel opened her mouth to say something but stopped, frowning. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he asked.

"Shhh," she advised. "Just listen."

They stood there in complete silence for a few moments; Kel loosening her sword as Neal did. It sounded like someone was...pounding on the ground, or running at them, but the sound never got closer or farther. Exchanging looks, Kel motioned to one side of the camp with her sword and nodded for him to go that way. She tiptoed in the opposite direction, listening for an increase in the pounding noise. However, the further she walked, the fainter the sound got, which meant that she had pointed Neal in the right direction.

Just as she had gotten halfway across the camp again, she heard a feminine yell followed closely by a strangled male outcry.

Neal came storming in Kel's direction.

Yuki followed him, holding a blanket closely around her naked body. Dom followed her, shamefaced, pulling a shirt on. "Neal! Neal, wait!"

Neal turned to Yuki, livid. "You...how...why...you...and _him_!" he pointed an accusing finger at Dom as Kel ran up to them. "I can't _believe_ you! And _her_!"

Yuki stiffened, tears welling up and threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. "You are one to talk! You have been with Kel all this time!"

"Yeah but I never _slept_ with her!" he yelled. He seemed to have forgotten that people slept around him. "I've _kissed_ her! I never _slept_ with her because I was engaged to _you_!"

Yuki looked stricken. "You liar..."

Dom stepped in front of Yuki protectively. "You don't have to yell at her, Meathead."

Neal punched him.

"Neal!" Kel cried. Dom raised his arm to retaliate but Kel placed herself between them. He lowered his arm.

"Move, Kel."

"No."

Neal turned and stalked to the other side of the camp only to get stopped by Thayet. She placed a hand on his arm and looked at him beseechingly. "What happened?"

"Kel and I heard...a noise," he started, his voice strained. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. "So we split up and started to investigate. I...I heard the noise get louder, so I...I pulled out my sword..." his hands had stopped clenching by then and hung uselessly beside him. "And...I should have known...it came from Yuki's tent...so I...I threw open the tent flap...and...I saw them...Dom and Yuki...right there...all...naked...and...doing things I've never done with Kel..."

Neal pulled a dagger from its sheath and stabbed it into the tree beside him.

"That...whore."

Thayet sighed. "Neal, I'm sorry. But...the way you and Kel have been acting lately...I would assume the same thing with Jon if we weren't married."

"You...you're taking _her_ side?" Neal asked the queen incredulously.

Sighing, Thayet shook her head. "I won't take anyone's side in this. I just wanted to offer a woman's perspective on this, Neal. She trusted you, and she came back to find that the man she loved was practically all over her best friend."

"It doesn't excuse her sleeping with my cousin, dammit!" he cried, not caring that he spoke with the queen like they were equals. "And I wasn't 'practically all over Kel'!"

Kel came up next to the queen. "My lady, maybe I should talk to him."

Thayet nodded. "Maybe he'll listen to you."

Watching the queen leave, Kel sighed. "Neal."

He threw his arms around her, hugging her. "I don't know why I feel so betrayed."

"Because you're still engaged to her," Kel told him, hugging him back. "You feel betrayed because you still care about her and you expected her to stay faithful."

"Why don't you feel like this about Dom?" Neal asked her softly.

"I never cared at Dom the same way you cared about Yuki," she explained. "I think of Dom more as a brother and less of a lover. You loved Yuki for a long time, and she was certainly your first true love. And it also doesn't help that Dom is your cousin, too."

Somehow, Neal felt calmer knowing the reason of his feelings of betrayal. "You're right...as always."

"I'm not always right," Kel protested.

Neal chuckled quietly. "Right. Again."

"Shush, you."

Neal kissed her soundly. "I knew I love you for a reason."

Kel blushed and squeezed him one last time before letting go. "Since Dom wants to stay in the tent you were sharing with Yuki, do you want to stay in mine with me?"

"Definitely."

* * *

  
Dom and Jonathan relieved Kel and Neal of sentry duty shortly thereafter, with Neal making a point of walking by Dom with his hand in Kel's as they entered her tent. Rather than taking Kel then, he just curled up in her bedroll next to her, sleeping as much as he could. He valued his sleep hours like any sane person and immediately woke up when Kel slipped out of his grasp to practice with her glaive as the sun rose.

He watched her practice for a few moments, marveling at the way she moved so fluidly with her glaive.

"Can I learn how to do that?" he asked.

Surprised, Kel stopped. "Uh...sure. I don't want you to practice with a glaive first because you might hurt yourself with the blade...so we need to find something top-heavy, like a broom."

"How about a spear?" he wanted to know. "I have one of those in my bags."

"A spear works," Kel agreed.

He got the spear and Kel showed him a beginner's pattern, working through it with him the first two times and correcting arm movements and leg positioning the next two times. Shinko joined them in a few moments to go through her own patterns, and in a half-hour breakfast had been prepared.

They each stowed away their weapons and grabbed a bowl of stew from pot hanging over the fire. As soon as everyone had finished eating, they packed up, and Neal rode over to Yuki. Yuki looked at him, her eyes hard. "Yes?" she asked stiffly.

"I...I just want to apologize for last night," he said. "I know we won't get married now, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, like you were the only one that did anything wrong. I hope that you and Dom are happy together."

Taken aback, Yuki blinked at Neal as if he had three heads. "I...I'm sorry you had to see us like that."

Neal nodded, her simple apology was enough for him. "Bye."

"...Goodbye," she answered, watching him ride over to Kel and her new puppy.


	16. The One Armed Man

Thanks to: Farah (thanks for telling me about Min), Keita, Stacey (YOU REVIEWED! YAY!),  
clarylissa, huzzahuzza, Min! :D (welcome back!!), StarFire, Lady Sandrilene, Jossie (your  
review showed up twice...)  
  
Kaaaate--where are you? :O  
  
I've almost gotten my goal from last chapter--one more review! So with this one I'd like  
to make my goal 140 - 145. Please? :D I love all of my reviewers forever and ever.   
  
Sorry about the lack of length for this one. I had to write it or else the following chapters  
wouldn't make any sense. *shrug* But I won't tell you what happens in this one just   
'cause I figure you would rather read this than nothing.  
  
**Chapter 16: The One-Armed Man**  
  
When the group finally arrived in Corus, they rode on the king's welcome. They  
arrived at the palace in no time, finding the refugees from Mindelan there, waiting  
for Kel. Her parents and relatives greeted her first, then the servants, and her nanny.   
She was glad to see that her nanny had survived and gave her an extra hug--the woman  
had been like another mother to her in the Yamani Islands.  
  
"Neal, I would like you to meet my nanny," Kel said, tugging him over to where the  
grey-haired Yamani stood. "Matsukaira, this is Neal."  
  
As he shook the old woman's hand, he smiled. "Sir Duke Neal of Queenscove at your  
service, m'lady."  
  
Sighing, Kel shook her head. Matsukaira just grinned and told him in very pronounced  
Common, "Hello, Sir Duke Neal of Queenscove. I've heard much about you."  
  
Neal laughed and looked at Kel. "Told your nanny about me, did you?"  
  
"Of course, Meathead," she answered. "Remember the whole 'best friends' thing?"  
  
He caught her around the waist as she hit his shoulder playfully. "More than best friends  
now, right?"  
  
Blushing, Kel replied with, "I hope so."  
  
Matsukaira chuckled and told them, "I'll leave you two alone for a while. I have to go  
meet the king that everyone is so enthusiastic about."  
  
"Ja ne," Neal called.  
  
Matsukaira gave Neal an odd look, shook her head, and walked back over to Kel's   
parents.  
  
Laughing, Kel snuggled up against Neal. To tell the truth, she had never felt happier  
or more content than when she was with Neal, not even when she had thought herself  
in love with Cleon or Dom. When Yuki and Dom bypassed them and headed into the palace  
to greet the others, Kel let go of Neal and stretched. "I suppose we should go inside?"  
  
"Yeah," Neal agreed. "We know that whoever it is will contact you again with a time you  
have to go..."  
  
"If that's the case, I can take care of him myself," Kel told him.  
  
A bit surprised, Neal just nodded. "I'm sure..."  
  
Kel led him into the palace then to find that the king had called Kel, her parents, and  
anyone else involved with the attack on Mindelan into the war chambers. After asking,  
Neal decided to tag along and see what the king had to say about Mindelan.  
  
Once everyone had seated themselves around the war chamber's table, the king spoke.  
"I realize that not everyone here knows what happened. While I was staying in   
Queenscove with the duke, my family--"  
  
"Excuse me, my lord?" Evin Larse from the Queen's Riders interrupted. "But didn't the  
duke...?"  
  
Neal raised his hand, "I'm the Duke of Queenscove now."  
  
Sparing a glance at Neal, Evin nodded, satisfied.   
  
Jon grinned at Neal and continued. "As I was saying, while I stayed in Queenscove with  
the duke, our lady knights, my family, and one of the King's Own sergeants, I recieved  
an urgent message from my cousin, Duke Gareth the Younger. It seems that the day  
he arrived at Corus, he found refugees from Mindelan standing in the parlor, waiting for  
my uncle, Duke Gareth the Elder, to meet with them. Gary listened to their story. It  
seems that while Lady Knight Keladry had come to Queenscove with Duke Nealan,   
someone made an attack on Mindelan. They burned Mindelan to the ground and knocked  
over that which wouldn't burn and pounded it to the ground. All except for the very heart  
of the castle. We had every survivor here at the palace, Gary wrote. No livestock or  
crops lasted, no animals except those that were with the survivors. They literally came  
to Mindelan on foot. Ladies and noblemen, you are looking at the sole survivors of  
Mindelan."  
  
Jonathan took a breath and sorted through his thoughts. "They also said that they left  
Keladry's room intact, with a message burned onto the shutters. It said, 'To my sweet:  
The time for our joining draws near. Meet with our link at our place for further conver-  
sation. Love: the master of your heart.' We have a few suspects as to who or what  
could have burned the message into the window, or had ordered the bandits or raiders  
to do so. For now, we will house the Mindelan refugees here in the palace, and we   
will continue to investigate this. Myles?"  
  
Myles looked up. "Yes, Your Majesty?"  
  
"Get your best spies and place them around Tortall. Tell them to keep their eyes and  
ears open at all times and to take note of anything about an attack on any fief in   
Tortall. Tell them to take notes on anyone named 'the Master of Hearts' or 'the Master'  
or anything pertaining to something that says 'the master of your heart'," Jonathan  
instructed.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty," Myles replied, as he wrote down Jon's instructions.  
  
"Evin," Thayet spoke. He looked up at the queen. "Take some of the Riders out--  
groups one, five, nine, and ten--and spread them out. Give them regions to cover."  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty," Evin agreed, also taking note of Thayet's instructions.  
  
"Daine," Jonathan said, turning his attention to the wild mage. "Could you tell any   
animals around Mindelan to keep their eyes and ears open, and tell some of the  
horses and ponies to listen to their masters' conversations?"  
  
Thinking, Daine nodded. "I can try."  
  
"Numair, could you try scrying? I know it's an obscure thing to scry for, but we're  
grasping at straws right now," Jonathan explained.  
  
Numair nodded, aloof. "I'll try, but I don't promise anything."  
  
"That's all I ask," Jon assured Daine and Numair. "Raoul, I trust your judgment about  
where to place your troops."  
  
Nodding, Raoul said, "Thanks, Jon."  
  
"And...Alanna, you and I will try scrying too. Thank you, everyone, for coming to   
this meeting," Jonathan told them. Everyone stood and began to leave when Jon said,  
"Neal, Kel, would you stay behind a moment?"  
  
They both sat back down as the room cleared of everyone but the three of them.  
"Your Majesty?" Neal asked.  
  
"I know we just got back home and everything, but do you suppose you could ride  
up to Mindelan and look at what's left? Kel, you know that place better than anyone  
I have right now, and I don't want to send someone who isn't fully trained in the  
sort of things knights are going up with you," Jon explained. "If you can't, or don't  
want to, I'll understand. If they are any survivors or if any of the raiders or bandits  
got trapped up there, I need Neal to heal them enough so they can be interrogated."  
  
Bewildered, Kel looked to Neal and then back at Jon. "I...I guess we can. Can we  
leave tomorrow though? I'd like to spend a little time with what's left of my family  
and we'd like to have a day to recuperate."  
  
"Certainly," Jon agreed. "I would like you to come see me before you leave though,  
just so I can know where my knights have gone."  
  
Neal nodded, rising with Kel and bowing to their king. As they left, Jon called after  
them, "Have either of you seen Merric of Hollyrose?"  
  
"No, sir," they answered in unison.  
  
Jon frowned. "All right. He seems to have gone missing..."  
  
Kel and Neal exchanged glances and ducked out of the war chambers. They were  
mobbed by Owen the instant they appeared.  
  
"Kel! Neal! Jolly good to see you!" he cried, hugging Kel, then hugging Neal, then  
hugging Kel again.   
  
"Hey, hey!" Neal protested. He waved Owen away from Kel and wrapped an arm   
around the lady knight's waist.  
  
Puzzled, Owen looked from Kel to Neal and back to Kel. "You...and him...?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Yeah, Meathead and me."  
  
"What about Yuki and Dom?" Owen wanted to know.  
  
"They...found each other, I guess," Neal answered. "I don't know...you should ask  
them."  
  
Owen just shrugged it off. "Well, jolly good for you two! I always wondered if you  
two fancied each other..."  
  
Neal and Kel laughed and excused themselves, walking down the hallways with their  
arms around the others' waist. As they approached Kel's rooms, someone jumped   
in front of them, snarling.  
  
Both knights reached for their swords, staring at their attacker.  
  
Kel's eyes went wide. "Udaan?!"  
  
Udaan ignored Kel and swung a dagger in Neal's vicinity. Neal ducked and tried to  
grab another arm that wasn't there. Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen  
this person before--it was Kel's kidnapper that had lost a hand!  
  
"Hey...didn't I just cut off your hand? Not your arm?" Neal asked as Kel subdued the  
once-kidnapper.  
  
"Udaan," she said softly, holding his single arm behind his back. "What happened to  
you?"  
  
"Yer *boyfriend*," Udaan snarled the word viciously, "cut me hand off 'n He couldn'  
save me arm..."  
  
Neal felt no remorse as he apologized.  
  
"'He'?" Kel inquired quietly. She had developed somewhat of a friendship with Gherash  
and Udaan--more Udaan than Gherash--since they had nabbed her on her way to   
Corus.  
  
"You know who," Udaan grunted. "Leggo of me arm, Kel. I ain't gonna touch yer boy  
if ye don' wan' me too."  
  
"I don't," Kel agreed, releasing his arm. He stumbled to his feet, slidding his dagger  
into its belt sheath. "Udaan, I would like you to meet Neal."  
  
Udaan regarded Neal aggressively, barely resisting the urge to grab for his dagger.  
However, he did offer a callused hand, which Neal reluctantly shook.  
  
Sighing, Kel ushered both of them into her rooms, locking the door behind her. "What  
brings you here, Udaan?"  
  
Udaan sent a dubious look in Neal's direction, obviously expressing his opinion of   
having the knight *not* in the Master's inner circle in the room. Kel threw Neal an  
apologetic look and glared at Udaan. Flinching, Udaan started his story. "After Sir  
Blade-happy cut off me hand, I took off back t' the meetin' place. I went t' Him an'  
told Him what happened t' me, and He told me he wouldn' touch me bloodied stump  
of a hand with a ten-foot pole, He did. So's He summoned one of 'Is healers an' gave  
the job t' them. They couldn' do nothin' 'bout nothin', so's I lost me arm. He told me  
t' come back an' git ye, but I had a score t' settle with Rides Like a Loon. D'ye even  
know what He wants wit' ye, Kel?"  
  
Shaking her head, Kel replied, "No, I haven't the faintest idea."  
  
"I'd tell ye but Swings Prematurely would tell yer king an' I kinna have tha' happenin',"  
Udaan explained.  
  
Neal's fingers danced over the hilt of his sword. "Would you care to call me another  
derogatory name, Udaan? I can arrange so you have no arm and a stump."  
  
"Er, no thanks, Sir Neal," Udaan told him. He turned back to Kel, sweeping his   
remaining hand through his dark hair. Although he looked somewhat of Scanran descent,  
he looked a lot like a Bazhir, with tanned skin, dark hair, and dark eyes to match. His  
lilting, commoner-born accent proved he had come from somewhere in central Tortall,  
perhaps even the Lower City in Corus. "Kel, where d'ye and yer's plan on headin'?"  
  
"Up to Mindelan," she answered with an air of sadness. "I trust you know what   
happened."  
  
The tumblers fell into place in Neal's head. Apparently, Udaan had hired someone to  
torch Mindelan to the ground. He had had the nerve to show his face in Corus and to  
Kel.  
  
Growling, Neal headed over to Kel's bed and flopped down on it.  
  
"I *do* know what happened," Udaan admitted, almost regretfully. "And lemme tell ye  
summat, Kel. I tried t' tell 'em that you ain't gonna cause much trouble at all, and if  
we just explain t' ye what we want then ye had a better chance of agreein' t' it. They  
wouldn' hear none of it..."  
  
Kel shook her head. "It's all right, Udaan."  
  
"They had no business burnin' Mindelan," he told her, anger permeating his voice.   
"No business at all. I tried t' stop 'em, Kel, I really did--"  
  
"I know." She patted his shoulder.  
  
He hugged her with his one arm, and Neal jumped up the instant Udaan got his arm  
even halfway around her. "Let her go! Kel, he's obviously a Player--"  
  
Kel broke away from Udaan and looked at Neal. "You don't have to act so over-  
protective, Neal. Didn't you hear any of what Udaan just told me? He tried to stop  
those who burned Mindelan from burning it. He doesn't want to hurt me."  
  
Neal looked at her as if she had gone mad. "He just said that whoever this   
mysterious 'He' is sent him to come kidnap you again."  
  
Slowly, Kel approached Neal and hugged him close. "Stop it. If he tried anything,  
you'd stop him if I couldn't," she whispered. She kissed him tenderly and turned   
back to Udaan. "I'm sorry." She stayed close to Neal though, aware of his pro-  
tectiveness. "You should just not go back to Him."  
  
Frowning, Neal wrapped an arm around Kel's waist and held her tightly to him.  
  
"Ye know I kinna do that," Udaan told her. "I kinna do it 'cause He'd jus' come   
after me an' do much worse 'n what He did t' yer family an' yer land."  
  
"Then come with us," Kel offered.  
  
"Kel!" Neal cried.  
  
"He has nowhere else to go and I trust him, Neal," Kel argued.   
  
Somewhat miffed, Neal released Kel, shot a dirty look at Udaan, and plopped down  
outside the door after nearly ripping it from his hinges. He hated the way Kel could  
make him so crazy and so protective, even though she could take care of herself--  
especially in her own room against a one-armed man armed only with a dagger. He  
couldn't help it though, not since Udaan and his partner had kidnapped her.   
  
Justice nudged his hand, having followed him out, and wagged her tail.  
  
"Okay," he said, sighing. "Let's go."  
  
***  
  
At Justice's insistance, Neal had gone out to the stables. He found Daine in the hay-  
loft, helping a cat birth kittens, and looked up at her.  
  
"'Lo, Wild Mage," Neal called from the stable floors.  
  
"'Lo, Sir Knight," Daine called back, immitating his voice.  
  
"How fares you?" he inquired.  
  
"Fair busy at the moment," she grunted. "You?"  
  
"Cogitating," he admitted.  
  
"Cogi--cogi-*what*?" she repeated.  
  
"Cogitating. Thinking," he reiterated.  
  
"Oh." A few minutes later, she climbed down the ladder, wiping her hands on the  
edge of her tunic. "So why did you seek me out? I would think you'd go to Kel."  
  
"Actually, I didn't seek you out," Neal confessed. "Justice here led me."  
  
Justice pawed at Daine's foot until the wild mage's foot until she stooped and   
coddled the puppy. Smiling, Daine looked at Neal. "She says her dam and her  
sire brought her here, saying she was fair smart pup."  
  
Neal laughed, scratching the back of his head. "By her 'dam' I suppose she means  
Kel, and by her 'sire' I'd guess she means me."  
  
Daine chuckled and set Justice back on the ground. "She likes you two a lot. She  
doesn't even remember her mother."  
  
He smiled at the puppy and crouched to pet her.   
  
"What's on your mind?" Daine wondered, sitting on a bale of hay and patting the  
spot next to her.  
  
Accepting the invitation, Neal picked Justice up and sat on the hay next to Daine.   
"As you've probably heard by now, Kel and I have started courting one another.  
I don't understand what happened, but Kel has made friends with one of the people  
that kidnapped her, and she wants him to come along with us to Mindelan to see if  
we can find any bandits trapped there that survived. I can't seem to talk any   
sense into her--she doesn't want to listen to me and she wants to trust a man that  
wants to kidnap her *again* and will most likely hurt her!"  
  
Daine watched Neal for a few moments before answering. "It sounds like you want  
to protect someone who has spent the majority of her life protecting herself and  
learning how to do so." He didn't say anything, so she continued. "Kel's a free   
spirit, just like Alanna. You of all people should have recognized that. True, I can  
understand how you would like to keep her safe from someone who has kidnapped  
her before--that *does* give the impression she can't take care of herself too well.  
But, you know, Kel does a fair good job of defending herself when she has to. You  
should trust her like you have before, and she won't lead you astray."  
  
Neal mulled over this in his mind. Sighing, he got off of the bale of hay and looked  
at Daine with a resigned expression. "How can everyone else see what I can't?"  
  
Daine shrugged. "Humans act a lot like intelligent animals, so I guess I can do a fair  
good job of reading people too. Anyway, I have to go to the lake now and see if I  
can follow the king's orders."  
  
"Thanks!" he called after her.  
  
"You're welcome!" she called back, already pretty far away.  
  
***  
  
Neal found Kel in the training yard, teaching Udaan some one-handed attacks with   
his dagger. She flinched when he approached and focused even more on Udaan,  
showing him how to twist and thrust a dagger up underneath someone's ribcage.  
Waiting, Neal watched her teach Udaan and realized that she did trust him, or else  
she wouldn't show him how to use his dagger with one hand.  
  
"Kel."  
  
She looked at him. "What?"  
  
"May I speak with you for a moment?" he asked, putting on his kicked puppy look.  
She gave him the Yamani Lump look in return. "Kel..." he pouted. She continued   
to ignore him. "Kel...please? Please?"  
  
Udaan glanced at him and looked at Kel. "Why don't ye take a break, Kel, an' lemme  
test out me own arm without ye?" he told her. Winking at Neal, Udaan began to   
practice without Kel.  
  
Sighing, Kel walked over to Neal and nodded towards the fence. Neal followed and  
leaned against it as she perched upon the top rung. "What do you want, Neal?"  
  
"I'm sorry." He looked at the ground. "I'm so used to courting a court female that  
I forgot you can take care of yourself. I mean, especially after the month and a half   
I spent looking for you, I guess I just got in my head that you couldn't defend yourself  
against the likes of him." Shrugging, he pointed to Udaan.  
  
"He has one arm."  
  
"I know."  
  
"And he can't use a dagger very well."  
  
"I can see that."  
  
"He wanted to kill you, you know."  
  
"I thought so, after him jumping out at us like that."  
  
"I told him that I love you."  
  
Neal stopped and looked up at her. Slowly, a smile, a genuine smile, spread across  
his face. "Will you tell me that you love me?"  
  
*Oh, gods. Way to go, Kel,* she berated herself mentally. *If I say something...well,  
Udaan knows anyway. I might as well.*  
  
She hopped off of the fence and stood toe-to-toe with him. "I love you."  
  
"I love you, too." He kissed her gently, glad that she had forgiven him for acting like  
a moron and that he had forgiven her for the most part for trusting someone who had  
kidnapped her.  
  
Udaan cleared his throat.  
  
They broke apart and looked at Udaan. Kel coughed and blushed, looking up at Neal  
once before addressing Udaan. "You ready to learn something else, Udaan?"  
  
"Actu'lly, Kel, I'm a might tired," he admitted. "Kin we have another go at it later?"  
  
"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning," Kel told him. "Sorry. Unless you decided to  
join us?"  
  
"If Neal don't mind," Udaan conceded.  
  
"If Kel trusts you, then I trust you."  
  
"Then I'll go wit' ye." 


	17. Spiral

Thanks to: Kate, Keita, Min, Farah, StarFire, Lady Wild Rose, huzzahuzza,   
Stacey, Xelena, Em  
  
Check it out! It's chapter seventeen already! Goddess, I really can't believe it.  
I can see the end just around the corner. (I still have a few more chapters   
planned out, but you know how it is.) It's so strange. This is my longest fanfic  
to date, and I'll be sad when it's over.  
  
Anyway, here's a shameless plug: I have a new fic out, as some of you may have  
noticed, and it's called Love Stinks. It features Daine and Neal in a very different way.  
Numair has forsaken Daine, and Neal found out that Yuki has taken up with a lover  
from her teenage years. Neal concocts a plan to make both Yuki and Numair   
jealous, and make them want their respective partners back with Daine's consent--  
what he *didn't* plan on was who else would get jealous and what the reprecussions  
would be.  
  
Hm...sorry. I know the parts have gotten super-short lately (short for me, anyways)  
but this one is a little bit longer than the last part. I've been watching TV and stuff   
and I've had a lot of school work and health problems, so the chapter lengths should  
increase steadily from here on out. Remember, 150 reviews! (althought I seem to  
fall one short of my hopes. 129 last time and 139 this time.)  
  
**Chapter 17: Spiral**  
  
The camp that Kel, Udaan, and Neal had set up sat nestled between a few trees and  
out of sight from the main road. They would approach the road leading to Mindelan  
soon.  
  
Udaan had elected to serve first sentry duty, considering he had arranged his tent  
close enough to Neal and Kel's that he could hear their night time...activities. In   
doing so, he got to trick himself into thinking every shadow could be something  
horrible lurking around the corner. In fact, every time a shadow moved against  
the scenery, he whirled, aiming his dagger towards the movement. It proved useless  
each time, except for scaring off an owl or two and some of the prey they chased.  
  
In the morning, Udaan was one tired man.  
  
However, the lovely couple seemed to be in top shape. It almost made Udaan sick  
to see them so deliriously happy with each other, but he was happy for Kel. Neal  
seemed to moon over her though, and *that* made him want to throttle the male  
knight.  
  
"Well, Mindelan should be coming up in a day or so," Neal told them. "Right, Kel?"  
  
"I think so," she agreed. She finished her breakfast and put the dish away. "You  
guys eat slower than *I* do. Come on Queenscove, Udaan, let's get a move on!  
Those who may have survived have no chance if we just sit here."  
  
Used to Kel's orders, Neal continued eating at his snail's pace. So, Kel kicked him.  
"Ow!" he cried. Glaring at her, he finished eating his breakfast and also packed  
away his dish. They left the packing up of the cooking utensils and Udaan's dish   
to the one-armed man while they packed up their tent and, ultimately, Udaan's tent.  
Their horses packed and saddled, they turned to the road and took hold of it.  
  
The ride was uneventful. They took lunch in the saddle and stopped for supper an  
hour after the sun went down. However, that's when trouble brewed.  
  
They heard abnormal noises from the bushes across the road. Noises that shouldn't  
have come from an animal made all three of the travelers draw their weapons and  
scan the scenery. A scream pierced the air, followed by the ringing of a sword drawn  
from its sheath. Shortly thereafter, the scream died.  
  
Neal recklessly ran across the road, Kel a moment behind him. When they finally   
located the source of all the noise, Kel thought she might throw up.  
  
Someone had arranged dead leaves in a circle in the clearing they'd found. A   
headless body of someone in Mindelan livery lied next to a message inscribed into  
the ground. Shakily, Kel approached the words, an "i" dotted by the man's head,  
and read them aloud. "'Dearest Kel: I told you to meet me in our place with our  
link. I meant for you to do it shortly after the message reached your ears. Your  
blatant disregard for my instructions will harm you in the long run, and you will  
regret ever not heeding them. From, the Master of Your Heart.'"   
  
She jumped when Neal encircled his arms around her waist. In fact, she didn't want  
to be touched, so she pulled out of Neal's embrace. Rounding on Udaan, her face  
lit with anger. "You!"  
  
Udaan flinched. "Me?"  
  
"Yes!" she cried, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I need to speak with you   
alone. Neal, stay here. Build a fire and tell the king about what has happened   
here."  
  
Grabbing Udaan by the collar of his shirt, Kel dragged hiim back to their camp   
while Neal built a small fire.  
  
"Udaan," she said, glaring at him. "Goddess, Udaan--did you agree to come to me  
and act as their little spy or something?!"  
  
Udaan held up his hand helplessly. "I swear t' ye, Kel, I didn't have nothin' t' do  
wit' this!" he told her, pacing. "I didn't want ye t' get hurt--"  
  
She shoved him. "Bullshit."  
  
He stumbled backwards and almost into the fire they had left unattended. Staring  
at her with haunted eyes, he took a deep breath. "Did the Master ever tell ye what  
he wanted from ye?"  
  
"No, for the billionth time," she growled. "Gods, if he *ever* touches Neal, I think   
I will kill him with my own hands. What the hell does he want from me, Udaan?"  
  
"He wants to make ye His wife," Udaan told her bluntly. "He wants to have ye all  
to 'Imself. I don't why, He has some kinda prophecy or whatnot. Somethin'   
'bout havin' a child wit' ye, for an heir. He wants to become a *god*, Kel. He's  
bloody mad. He has His scroll an' that scroll will help make Him a god. The Master  
is just a young'un with too much ambition, too much madness t' see straight   
anymore. He's scarcely older 'n ye. D'ye understand now? D'ye understand?"  
  
"Understand what? That he's crazy? Yes, I understand. Why the hell is he so  
fixated on *me*?" Kel wanted to know desperately.  
  
"I told ye. He wants to become a god wit' ye at His side. That's all I know," Udaan  
tried to tell her.  
  
"Where did he come from, Udaan? I know you know."  
  
"Tortall."  
  
"How did he come into power?"  
  
"Faked His own death."  
  
"Male or female?"  
  
"No one can say. He appears diff'rent to everyone so no one can identify Him."  
  
Kel sat down and buried her face in her hands. "You're lying."  
  
"I ain't lyin'," Udaan insisted.  
  
"I don't believe you."  
  
"Then Neal will die."  
  
That stopped Kel in her tracks, fear etched in her eyes and on her features. "Gods...  
they'll kill Neal, won't they? Just so I have more reason to go to this Master of whoever?"  
  
Udaan nodded gravely. "Yes. Now will ye listen t' me?"  
  
Knowing what Udaan would say, Kel inclined her head barely. "Yes."  
  
"Ye'll have t' let him go, Kel," he said softly, kneeling next to her. "I know ye love him,  
so t' protect him ye'll have to get rid of him."  
  
"No." Standing up, she looked at Udaan as if he had physically struck her. "No, I just  
got him all for myself. I can't..."  
  
"Ye *have* t'!" Udaan told her fervently. "D'ye want him t' *die*, Kel?! Ye'll have t' let  
him go--without lettin' him know what we know."  
  
Closing her eyes, Kel shook her head. "I hate the Master. I hate him. I hate him with  
everything I have in me and I haven't hated anyone except for Blayce. Gods, I hate the  
Master more than I ever hated Blayce. I never thought I could hate someone so much  
as I hate the Master." She stopped in front of the fire. "Fucking son of a bitch."  
  
Neal stumbled into their camp then. "I told Jon about what happened. He says he still  
wants us to go up to Mindelan and see if they left anything behind or anyone behind.   
Personally, I don't think we'll find anything but--Kel, are you okay? You look like you've  
seen a ghost."  
  
Plastering a fake smile on her face, Kel shook her head. "I'm fine. I feel kind of tired  
though, do you mind if I skipped supper and just went to sleep?"  
  
Frowning, Neal sighed. "Go ahead. Udaan and I can take care of everything."  
  
Acutely aware of Neal's eyes on her back, Kel ducked into their tent and squirmed into  
her bedroll. She sighed and mentally cursed the Master in any language she knew how  
to and surprised herself at the other curses she knew. She could hear Neal talking with  
Udaan outside.  
  
"Did you say something to upset her?" Neal demanded of Udaan as they cooked their  
supper.  
  
"Nothin' at all," Udaan grunted.  
  
Obviously, Neal didn't believe him. He hadn't really trusted the man since he kidnapped  
Kel, although he trusted Kel's judgment. "Did she act ill or anything while you two were  
talking?"  
  
"Jus' a little tired." He shrugged. "Why do ye ask?"  
  
"Because I don't trust you or your motives," Neal told him bluntly. "If you harm Kel or  
you were any way involved in that scene I just had to report to the king, I will make   
sure you regret it. Do you understand? If you do anything to Kel, I will make you   
pay, Duke of Queenscove or not."  
  
"I hear ye," Udaan said quietly. "I promise ye I had nothin' t' do wit' it though."  
  
"I don't know if promises mean anything to you," Neal retorted. "I'll repeat it again: I  
don't trust you. At all."  
  
Nodding, Udaan went about his business, wary of Neal's haunting green eyes on him.  
  
***  
  
In the morning, Kel did her best to give Neal the cold shoulder. She figured that   
instead of breaking up with him herself, she would cause trouble in their relationship  
so much that it brought around an argument that would cause them both to go their  
separate ways. She really didn't want to break his heart and wouldn't if she didn't   
have to.  
  
They got to Mindelan two hours before the sun began to set. Neal had given up   
trying to talk to her when she kept pretending like she hadn't heard him. It really  
hurt his feelings--he couldn't understand why she kept doing this to him and when he  
asked, she had changed the subject and pretended like she hadn't heard him. In   
fact, it actually started to irritate him so much that he had taken the leading position  
in their line of horses just so he wouldn't have to put up with it.   
  
"Mindelan!" Kel cried when they came to it. She urged her horse up ahead of Neal  
and stopped abruptly when she saw all of the rubble. Her face crumpled into a mix  
of a frown and devastation. "No..." she murmured, dismounting and grabbing her  
horse's reins. Leading the horse, Udaan, and Neal, she stepped into the ashes and  
splintered pieces of wood. "Great Merciful Mother..." she breathed. Looking up, she  
caught a glimpse of what was left of the castle, cried out, released her horse, and   
ran to the piles of stone.  
  
Neal grabbed her horse's reins and followed her in. "Kel?"  
  
She looked up at him, sniffing. "What?"  
  
"Do you have some place where we could tie the horses so we can look around?"  
he asked softly.  
  
"This way," she said, standing up and taking her horse from Neal. She led them to  
the rear of the castle, where the stable used to sit. Most of the stable still stood,  
much to her relief, and they were able to tie their horses to the stall beams. She  
asked Udaan to watch the horses and walked out to the village of Mindelan with   
Neal.   
  
"Hello!" Neal called, his voice echoing off of the rubble. "Anyone there?"  
  
"I don't think we'll find anyone," Kel confided. However, she did shout, "Hello!   
Did anyone survive?"  
  
"Over here!" shouted back a feeble voice.  
  
Kel and Neal exchanged glances for only a moment and ran to the source of the  
voice. "Hello?" Neal asked.  
  
"Please lemme out!" the voice insisted.  
  
Together, Neal and Kel lifted the long piece of wood covering the survivor.   
Amazingly, the survivor had found himself in a small hole, unhurt for the most   
part with enough air to last for days. He had also had a waterskin with him and  
some dried food in his belt pouch.  
  
"How...?" Neal trailed off. He examined the survivor and laughed out loud. "Not  
a scratch on him!"  
  
"Lady Keladry!" the man exclaimed, recognizing the female knight. He bowed.  
"My regrets about Mindelan..."  
  
"Oh, please don't bow," she told him. "Please."  
  
He rose, fiddling with the hem of his tunic. "Thank ye both. I though I would   
die down there."  
  
"No problem," Kel said.  
  
"Can you tell us what happened?" Neal asked, hoping that he could tell them  
what had really gone on.  
  
"Well, I remember I was goin' down t' the basement," he started. "I heard a  
noise, so I came back upstairs and ran outside. There were a bunch of   
mounted bandits carryin' torches and hollerin' like no tomorrow. They set fire  
to that side of the town." He pointed. "And started knockin' everything down.  
They ran up to the castle and pulled a catapult up, loaded it, and began firin'  
everything at it. The rest of the bandits came over to this side and started   
knockin' everything down. I ran back inside and down to the basement then."  
  
"What did you say your name was?" Kel asked.  
  
"Thatcher. Jayson Thatcher," he told her.  
  
"Well, Mr. Thatcher," Neal interrupted. "We'll take you back to the palace   
now."  
  
"Thank you!" Jayson Thatcher cried, taking hold of both of them and hugging  
them.  
  
Neal ducked out of his arms and looked to Kel, saying, "I'll go make sure that  
no one else is out there."  
  
Kel nodded and led Mr. Thatcher back to Udaan. Neal returned to them a half  
hour later, emtpy handed except for half of an emblem. It had apparently come  
off of a uniform of some sort, but he couldn't identify it without its other half.  
  
"I think we should go back to Corus now," Neal announced.  
  
"I agree," Kel, Udaan, and Jayson Thatcher agreed.  
  
They mounted, Jayson riding double with Neal. None of them wanted to talk too  
much, except for Jayson, who kept asking for news from Corus. In about an hour,  
they arrived at an inn, quickly paying the amount asked for and dolling out the   
rooms. Jayson stayed with Udaan, and Kel with Neal.  
  
Justice snuggled up between them as Neal traced Kel's jawline. Smiling, he told   
her, "At least we'll be home soon."  
  
She nodded, yawning as he tried to kiss her. "Sorry," she muttered. "Neal...I'm  
tired."  
  
He nodded. "All right." He kissed her quickly and snuggled into the bed. "Night,  
Kel."  
  
"Goodnight."  
  
***  
  
Neal woke in the morning to find his bed void of any life but himself and Justice.  
Kel had disappeared, he found as he lifted his head full of disheveled hair from the  
pillow. "Love?" he called groggily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm and  
yawning. Justice licked his chin and wagged her tail, then tried to chew on Neal's  
fingers. "Ow! Kel! Your dog wants to eat me!"  
  
"She doesn't want to eat you, you fool," Kel answered from the doorway. "And   
how nice of you to wake up."  
  
"What..." he could hardly form a coherent thought, much less speak intelligently.  
However, he did manage to find the brain power to look out the window. "Kel,  
babe, it's still dark outside."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Kel walked over to the window and threw the heavy winter   
curtains aside. Post-dawn sunshine streamed through onto Neal's face, making  
him cry out in surprise. "Udaan and Mr. Thatcher have been awake for a couple  
hours now. Come on, up with you. You can't ride double with Mr. Thatcher   
unless you have your wits about you."  
  
In reply, he groaned something incomprehensibly and buried his face in his   
pillow.  
  
"Wake up!" Kel demanded, pulling aside the covers to reveal Neal in nothing but  
a loincloth.  
  
"Ah! That's *cold*, woman!" he yelped, rolling out of bed and crawling over to  
his bags, muttering.  
  
She smiled and watched him for a moment before packing her things up and  
handing Justice a strip of leather to chew on. When Neal finally stood, Kel had  
most of her things packed away and didn't anticipate Neal coming up behind her  
and wrapping his arms around her waist.  
  
"Neal..." she breathed.  
  
"Ten minutes. That's all I ask," he murmured, kissing her earlobe.  
  
"Five minutes," she bartered.  
  
"Seven," he counteroffered.  
  
"Six," she bargained.  
  
"Deal."  
  
"Ack. No, wait, no deal. Udaan and Mr. Thatcher are *waiting* for us, Neal."  
  
"They can stand to wait six more minutes."  
  
"You just got clothed."  
  
"I can get clothed again."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay, fine. At least let me kiss you?"  
  
"I think I can arrange that."  
  
She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with all that she  
had in her. This kiss would have to last her until the Master business was over and  
done with--after all, she didn't want him to die, so she had to pretend she didn't  
care. She had to make herself not care about him so the Master wouldn't target him.  
Just thinking about it made tears spring up in her eyes and she tried desperately to  
keep them back.  
  
However, Neal broke away from her, frowning. He had tasted the tears in their kiss.  
"Kel...?" he brushed one of her tears away with his thumb. "Love, what...why did   
you start crying?"  
  
"Cry..." her voice broke. "Crying? I'm not crying."  
  
He frowned even more. First she had started giving him the cold shoulder, then   
she kissed him like tomorrow didn't exist, and now she had started crying?  
  
"Kel? Are you..."  
  
She looked at him intently.  
  
"Are you pregnant?"  
  
Kel hit him and walked out of the room with her bags.  
  
"Ow," he commented as he rubbed his arm. Shrugging, he picked up his bags,   
whistled to Justice, and followed her out to the stableyard.  
  
***  
  
While Neal had occupied himself by engaging in a conversation with Mr. Thatcher,  
Udaan dropped back to ride alongside Kel. "How are ye feelin', Kel?" he asked   
quietly.  
  
"Miserable." No matter how much she tried, she simply couldn't keep herself from  
watching Neal with forlorn eyes. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Ye look it," he told her. "I take it ye an' him haven't had much in the way of   
paradise?"  
  
Kel snorted indignantly. "Hardly. If I want to protect him, then I just have to give  
up on him. I have to let him get angry at me and not want me back."  
  
"Ye've a good heart, Kel. I'm sorry ye got chosen by that son of a bitch for His  
plan," Udaan apologized. "I..."  
  
"You?" Kel prompted, wiping her cheek on her sleeve.  
  
"I...I'm 'specially sorry that I suggested ye to the Master," he mumbled. "I had   
heard about ye and yer success in Scanra, an' He wanted someone to stand by  
'Is side..."  
  
Kel shrugged. "Whatever. It doesn't matter now, we can't change what's   
happened."  
  
"True," he conceded. Silence enveloped them for a few feet until Udaan decided  
to speak again. "Ye'll have t' distance yerself from 'im, elsewise the Master's   
spies would tell 'im that ye're still longin' for him."  
  
She nodded. "I know."  
  
Udaan didn't bother to speak again, instead watching Kel try to melt into the   
Yamani lump.  
  
"Udaan!" Neal called over his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, Neal?" the one-armed man called back.  
  
"Do you want to trade with me? I don't think Skunk can take much more of  
this double-riding," he explained.  
  
Udaan thought about it. "Hey, Thatcher."  
  
Jayson looked up. "Yeah?"  
  
"Do ye ride well?" Udaan wanted to know.  
  
"I think so," he allowed.  
  
"Can ye keep yerself steady on a horse without me t' hold ye up?" Udaan asked  
as he trotted up evenly with Neal.  
  
"Of course," Jayson Thatcher assured Udaan.  
  
"Then git on."  
  
Jayson switched horses, leaving Neal and Kel to themselves. She hadn't spoken  
to her fellow knight and lover since that morning. He just wanted her to tell him  
that she loved him and that she was just going through her monthlies or   
something because, quite frankly, a shadow of doubt loomed in Neal's mind.   
Had she only wanted to play with his feelings because she felt he did wrong by  
Yuki? That didn't sound like Kel, but he wouldn't put anything past her, not with  
the doubt hanging overhead.  
  
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked congenially.  
  
She shrugged. "I guess."  
  
"We'll go home to Corus soon and maybe we can take a break. I doubt it, but  
maybe. We deserve a break--the gods know we do," he babbled.  
  
She didn't seem to notice. "Yeah."  
  
*Go away, go away, go away. Please go away. You're making it harder on me,  
Neal. Go away, go away...* Kel pleaded mentally.   
  
However, he didn't seem to hear her telepathic message. "I think the first thing  
I want to do is take a bath when I get home. I've spent the majority of the last  
three months on the road."  
  
"Yeah," Kel agreed.  
  
The chilly mid-November wind swept through the northern area of Tortall,   
making the four travelers shiver. "Feels like an early snow this year," Neal  
commented.  
  
"Maybe." Yawning, Kel settled more comfortably in her saddle and found her  
eyes drifting shut. Neal surprised her by placing a fur-lined cloak over her   
shoulders, which she didn't have the energy to fight. She had stayed up most  
of the prior evening, trying to keep out of Neal's grasp--he was clingy when   
he slept.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I won't let you fall."  
  
She replied with a noncomital noise.  
  
***  
  
The remainder of the trip passed by in a blur of lethargy and stress for Kel and  
Neal. Both of them worried about the other for different reasons, and the more   
Neal thought about it the more he realized that she had kept secrets from him   
since he found her. It made him a kind of angry he had never felt before and he  
felt quite betrayed. He had assumed that she would tell him in her own time what  
had happened when she got kidnapped but she never told him. Now she gave him  
the cold shoulder, one-word answers, kept secrets, and talked quietly with Udaan.  
  
He never had trusted Udaan.  
  
However, Neal decided not to confront Kel on the matter until they cam back to   
Corus, much to Kel's relief. She saw it on his face when he looked at her, and  
quite frankly she had expected more time between him noticing her lack of warmth  
towards him and act upon it.   
  
In fact, two days after they returned to Corus and handed over the emblem and  
Jayson, Neal cornered her in the residential hallway. The temperatures had   
dropped to below freezing and had steadily depleted since the morning but the  
dread Kel felt chased the cold from her and instead gathered in her stomach.  
  
"Kel."  
  
"...Neal."  
  
"Kel, we need to talk." 


	18. Irony

Thanks to: Stacey, Keita, Xelena, The Rain Child, huzzahuzza, Lady   
Sandrilene, Dracos Myth, Froggy  
  
Hi guys! Chapter eighteen here, ready for the reading.  
  
Yay! A longer chapter this time! :DDDDDDD  
  
This chapter...a lot happens in this chapter. Chapter 19 should be out  
soon, hopefully. I'm still in shock, chapter 18, already! It doesn't seem  
like I've been writing for long, but I've been writing since September and  
it's February. Ah, the life of a writer! Heehee. Anyway, enjoy, and   
review, you lot! I would like to have 170 reviews by chapter 19. It's only  
11 reviews, I think you can pull it off!   
  
Enjoy!!  
  
**Chapter 18: Irony**  
  
Frozen, Kel watched Neal.  
  
"Kel, did you hear me?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Kel,  
we really need to talk."  
  
She seemed to snap out of it. "Oh, well...er, let's go to my rooms then."  
  
Shaking his head, Neal took her elbow gently and steered her into his rooms.  
"Sit down, please." She obeyed mechanically, her heart thumping in her   
chest faster than it ever should have. "Kel...you've been avoiding me lately.  
Not in a physical sense, but mentally you've just stopped acknowledging me.  
You lie to me, you start crying for no reason, you give me the cold shoulder,  
you answer most of my questions with one or two words..."  
  
She watched him, unblinking. *Okay. Okay, Kel, prepare for heartbreak.*  
  
"Why, Kel? Why have you started doing this all of a sudden? Did I do   
something?" he wanted to know, tilting his head to the side. "You told me  
that you love me and you agreed to having sex with me, I made sure I   
didn't force you. I went out of my way to make sure that you were completely  
at ease with the idea before you gave me the go-ahead. I tried to treat you  
as your own person, I treated you like Kel, didn't I? What did I do wrong, Kel?"  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
"Kel? Come on. Please answer me."  
  
As much as she wanted to say something, she couldn't force anything out of   
her mouth. However, she closed her eyes and said, "You haven't done   
anything wrong."  
  
"Then why have you started treating me like this?" he asked her, spreading   
his hands beseechingly.  
  
The words began to roll off of her tongue once she clamped a seal on her   
emotions. "Is it so hard to accept that maybe, just *maybe*, I made a   
mistake?"  
  
"What mistake?" he wanted to know.  
  
"I thought that what I feel for you could be more than the love I feel for my  
brothers," she explained.   
  
He took a step back. "Excuse me?"  
  
"I made a mistake. Do you have trouble believing that maybe I did that?"  
she demanded.  
  
"Yes," he said quietly. "Yes I do."  
  
"Why?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Because I *know* you, Kel. I know you don't let the phrase 'I love you' just  
roll off of your tongue freely like some paid whore," he told her. "I know,   
because *you* flipped out in Queenscove when I said it to you and it took you  
a week longer to tell me that you love me back, so there's no way that you   
could have mistaken what you feel for me for the same love you feel for your  
brothers."  
  
"Deal with it," she snapped. "I told you--I don't love you the way you want me  
to love you!"  
  
The raise of volume in her voice sparked Neal's temper. "Dammit! So you  
decide, instead of telling me that you made a gods damned mistake, to keep  
secrets from me, to hide what happened when you were kidnapped from me,  
to ignore me, to avoid me, to...to basically say, 'screw you, Neal, I don't give  
a damn anymore'?"  
  
"Just about," she agreed.  
  
That *really* made his temper flare. "You..." he trailed off, burying his hands  
in his hair. "You held my feelings in total disregard. That is *so* unlike you,  
Kel. Why don't you tell me what *really* happened."  
  
Kel rose. "I'm telling you the truth. I made a mistake--I thought I loved you  
as more than a friend but I was wrong. I should have never bedded you!"  
  
Neal reeled. "Oh, you bitch. You gods damned *bitch*. I risk my damn life  
for you, I put off my own damn *wedding* for you, I fought my feelings for  
you--all for you to say, 'oops. Sorry. I didn't mean it. I should've never  
slept with you.'"  
  
*Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Just egg him on,* Kel told herself. She felt  
almost as if she watched the proceedings from somewhere else.  
  
"That's right. That's damn right," she agreed. "I should've never slept with   
you. I should've never kissed you or told you that I love you because none  
of it means a thing."  
  
"Well, *gee*, Kel! Thanks for filling me in!" he yelled. He couldn't help it;  
he had tried to keep his voice low but she infuriated him and hurt him so   
badly he had almost lost his self-control.  
  
"You're welcome, Queenscove." She turned her back to him. "I don't love  
you. Understand? I don't love you!"  
  
Neal felt as if she had slapped him. She had hurt him really badly. "You...  
whore," he spat.  
  
"Oh, come now, Neal. You can think of better insults than that. You of all  
people should know I'm used to people calling me a whore."  
  
"Goddess." Tears began to trickle down Neal's cheek and he didn't bother   
to wipe them away. He laughed bitterly. "Goddess, Kel, I don't know what  
happened to you. What happened to my Kel? What happened to the Kel  
that I told *everything* to? What happened to the Kel that I love with all  
my heart? When did she turn into such a callous bitch?"  
  
"This is me. If you don't like me, leave me. That's all there is to it." She  
paused for a moment before adding, "Run back to Yuki."  
  
Neal didn't know what to say, seeing as he felt she had ripped out his heart,  
danced on it, and currently stabbed thousands of sharp needles into it.  
"Kel..." he walked over to her, sniffing. He took her by the arms and turned  
her towards him. Searching her eyes, he said, "Look me in the eyes and   
tell me you don't love me, Kel. Look me in the eyes and say it."  
  
*Goddess...* she moaned mentally.  
  
Her eyes locked on his. "I don't love you."  
  
Releasing her, he stumbled backwards and braced himself on his bed.   
"A-all right." Visibly shaking, he wandered over to the door and balanced  
himself against the doorknob. "I'll...I'll leave you alone then..." he told her  
dazedly, opened the door, and stumbled out into the hallway.  
  
Kel wore the Yamani mask for a few more minutes, allowing herself enough  
time to escape to her rooms, where she threw herself on her bed and let   
tears overcome her.  
  
***  
  
Neal didn't know where to go. He couldn't think, let alone go some place that  
didn't remind him of Kel. "Can't think..." Neal muttered and finally dropped to  
his knees wherever his lost feet had taken him. Burying his face in his hands,  
the image of her with that hard, cold look in her eyes and that icy tone in her  
voice, saying: "I don't love you" flashed in his mind's eye. The words echoed   
in his head, ricocheting right off of the shadow that completely encompassed   
his concious thought and made the phrase ring even louder.  
  
He felt lost and blind, like someone had wrenched a piece of his soul out and  
taken it to the lake, where they promptly submerged it until it dissolved.  
  
"Neal?"  
  
Someone touched his back gently, making him jump.  
  
"Neal? Mithros--Neal, what happened?"  
  
Neal recognized the voice faintly but couldn't concentrate on it, not bothering   
to turn and look at the speaker. "Go away."  
  
"Neal, you look horrible."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
The speaker peered over his shoulder. "Tell me what happened."  
  
"Alanna, please go away."  
  
Alanna hauled Neal to his feet. "Not until we get out of the kitchen, laddy.   
The cooks came and got Jon because you just sort of collapsed in here, or  
so they said."  
  
With somewhat more dignity than previously, he followed his former knight-  
master out of the kitchen and into the mess hall. "Go, please."  
  
Frowning, Alanna looked him in the eyes. "What happened to you?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," he said gruffly.   
  
"Did your mother die?" Alanna guessed.  
  
"That would have been so much simpler," he muttered darkly.  
  
Utterly confused, she stared at him. "What *is* it, then?"  
  
"Kel broke up with me!" Neal shouted, jumping up so fast that his seat toppled  
over.  
  
"You must have misunderstood, Neal. She loves you, she wouldn't break up   
with you," Alanna tried to tell him.  
  
"How can I misunderstand when I told her to look me in the eyes and tell me  
she doesn't love me?! She did it without batting an eyelash! Just looked me  
in the eyes with this cold expression and said, 'I don't love you.'" Shaking, he  
picked up his seat and, sitting down, buried his hands in his hair and glared  
at the tabletop.  
  
"Well, I think I'll go have a talk with young Mindelan," Alanna growled.  
  
"Guilt her into taking me back? Goddess, Alanna, she doesn't *care*! I can't  
care because she doesn't want me. If I care, then it'll make her feel guilty.  
I don't want her if she doesn't love me back. I'll...I'll deal."   
  
*It hurts. I never thought anything could hurt this much.*  
  
***  
  
Kel had slipped off of her bed sometime during the hours that passed after   
her harsh words to Neal and now lie sprawled on the cold floor. Well, it used  
to be cold, but it had warmed from her non-moving body.  
  
Someone knocked on the door, but she didn't care enough to answer it.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
Knock, knock, knock.  
  
*I don't care. I don't care who you are, what you want, or why you need to  
speak to me. Go away.*  
  
"Kel, open up."  
  
Knock, knock, knock.  
  
*Go away.*  
  
"Kel, please."  
  
Knock, knock, knock.  
  
*Okay. PLEASE go away then.*  
  
"Kel? Kel!"  
  
Knock-knock-knock.  
  
The visitor jiggled the doorknob. Sometime before she had dropped off of   
the bed, she had locked the door.   
  
*Teach you to listen to me.*  
  
"Kel! Kel, are you okay?!"  
  
*Ugh...Inness...go away. Please.*  
  
"Kel, don't move. I'll go get a healer!"  
  
*You evil evil boy.*  
  
"Inness..." she groaned from the floor. "Don't get a healer. I don't need one. I   
just want to be alone right now, all right?"  
  
"Kel, what's wrong?" her older brother asked.  
  
"I..." Kel started. "Never mind. Just...leave me alone."  
  
She heard a soft click on the opposite side of the door and it swung open. Inness  
stood in the threshold, looking somewhat like a forbidding god come to punish her  
for her cruelty. Quietly, he shut the door and crouched beside her on the floor.  
  
"Now, Lady Knight," he said softly. "Tell your brother what happened to make   
you so upset."  
  
*Be strong, Kel. Can't cry. Have to make it look real. If I don't, then the   
Master...*  
  
Looking away from Inness, she replied with, "I broke up with Neal."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I broke up with Neal. Do you need it in writing?" she asked harshly.  
  
Taken aback, Inness peered at Kel's face. "Why'd you do something foolish like  
that? Don't you love him?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Liar."  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, why did you start crying then?"  
  
"He's still my best friend, or was. He said some really cruel things. I still care   
about him because of what we've both gone through together, so what he said  
really affected me."  
  
"I still think you're lying about loving him."  
  
"I don't care what you think. Please leave, Inness."  
  
"Very well then. As my sister wishes."  
  
Inness rose and made it to the threshold before pausing, looking back at Kel,  
and saying, "It doesn't do well to lie to yourself."  
  
"How about if I just lie to other people?"  
  
Inness left, closing the door behind him.  
  
***  
  
Deciding he didn't want to stay at the palace for supper because of the raw   
wounds on his heart, Neal decided to eat at a restaurant in Corus. He hoped  
no one would follow him down as he saddled his horse. Mounting, he tried to  
keep his mind as blank as possible and set out on the road.  
  
Strangely, he didn't feel any anger towards the lady knight from Mindelan.   
He felt nothing like the night he found Yuki and Dom in a rather comprimising  
position; he just felt...  
  
...empty.  
  
Empty like a seashell with nothing but the echo of Kel's "I don't love you" rather  
than the ocean.   
  
His horse skittered to the right, jerking Neal from his depressing thoughts.   
Frowning, he calmed the beast and looked around for what could have spooked  
it, finding nothing. He shrugged and continued to the farthest, most secluded  
restaurtant he could find.  
  
He dismounted and tied his horse to a post outside the building. Ducking in the  
door, he scanned the vicinity and, satisfied that nobody he knew or recognized  
from court had decided to dine here tonight, waited to be seated.  
  
The host took him wordlessly to a table in the rear of the resturant, effectively  
placing him in the shadows.  
  
As Neal read the menu, he heard someone slide into the seat across from him.  
  
"Can I help you," Neal asked flatly, not bothering to lower the menu.  
  
A gloved hand gripped the top of his menu, lowering it to the table for him with  
a strong, firm grasp.  
  
Blue eyes met emerald ones.  
  
"Shit," Neal breathed.  
  
A malicious smile spread across the blue-eyed one's face.  
  
"Didn't you die?" Neal asked.  
  
"It was a simulacra that one of my father's mages made."  
  
"I'll be damned."  
  
"Too late."  
  
Neal snorted. "I don't have time for this," he told the man across from him and  
started to get up. He thought the better of it when the gloved hand reached out  
and grabbed his wrist with a strength greater than Neal had ever recalled. He  
sat back down.  
  
"I'm thinking you *do* have time for this."  
  
The voice, as cold as the steely blue eyes, made Neal rather agreeable. "Right.  
What do you want, Joren?"  
  
"You remember my name. Impressive. If I recall, you couldn't remember how  
to tie your own boot laces without Mindelan's help, let alone remember people's  
names," Joren told him.  
  
"Wow. You know what, Joren? I'm really not in the mood for this. Tell me what  
you want, and leave."  
  
"I need you to go to the Copper Isles and get me a sword," Joren said.  
  
"Screw you. I'm not going all the way to the Copper Isles just to get a sword,"  
Neal scoffed.  
  
"Yes you are," Joren told him. "You're going to go because I can make you want  
to go by a simple flick of my wrist."  
  
"You don't even have the Gift, Stone Mountain. I don't think it's very threatening  
of you to say that," Neal told him flatly. "Get the damn sword your own damn  
self. Or, here. Have mine."  
  
Neal started to unbuckle his sword from his waist when he found himself unable  
to move.  
  
"Let's just say I found a way to have magic."  
  
*Okay,* the Nealbrain said. *This...is bad.*  
  
"Are you willing, now?" Joren asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Neal just nodded, not trusting his voice.  
  
"Good. It's in a city on the Copper Isles called Emerald Edge. You'll know it when  
you see it, considering you have the Gift. The Sword of Abscador resonates off of  
those with magic, but those who pass by Emerald Edge don't feel it because they  
don't look for it." Joren rose from his seat. "I expect to have the Sword by   
February. On the first of February, if I don't have it, you die." He dug a small gold  
chain from his pocket and attached it around Neal's wrist. "If you try to take that  
off, you die. You disobey me, you die. You tell anyone what it is, and you die.   
Got it?"  
  
Numbly, Neal nodded.  
  
"Goodbye, Neal. I'll meet you here at supper on the last day of January."  
  
Joren literally vanished before Neal's eyes.  
  
"What'll ye have, cutie?"  
  
Rubbing his temples, Neal replied with, "Whatever the special of the day is."  
  
"All right," the waitress agreed. "Anythin' else?"  
  
"No, that's all I want." He stared at the golden chain around his wrist, wondering  
what kind of death Joren had contained inside that little piece of gold.  
  
"All right. What d'ye want to drink?"  
  
"...Ale. Lots and lots of ale."  
  
The waitress chuckled. "Be right with ye."  
  
***  
  
Kel decided, as Neal did, not to dine at the palace that night. She didn't want to   
see Neal, and she didn't want her friends fretting over her. Although they meant  
well, she just didn't want to talk about it. So, like Neal, she saddled her horse,  
trotted down to Corus, found the same most secluded, out of the way restaurant  
she could, tied up her horse, and found herself seated across the empty room   
from Neal.  
  
Neal had been watching the restaurant lethargically, not really expecting anyone  
to show up that he knew but on the look out anyway. Then he had taken to   
looking at the objects hanging from the wall, his eyes going right over Kel and  
onward.   
  
Then his brain caught up.  
  
His eyes landed once more on Kel. He snorted and took a drink from his cup of  
ale.  
  
This drew Kel's attention.  
  
Kel caught sight of Neal, groaned softly, and poked her food around on her   
plate.  
  
"Stalking me now, Kel?" he asked.  
  
"Why would I do that? I don't love you anymore, remember?" she retorted rudely.  
  
"I had never even heard of this place until I found it a half-hour ago," Neal told   
her. "This is the most out of the way restaurant in Corus. Unless you followed me,  
why would you come here?"  
  
"Maybe because I just wanted to eat alone today," she snapped. "I wasn't aware  
I had to check and make sure you don't go some place first."  
  
"Bitch."  
  
"Glad you think so."  
  
Their conversation faded as Kel ate. Neal finished his supper and his ale, playing  
with the golden chain on his wrist. The chain didn't look like it would cause much  
damage, but now that he examined it closer, once Joren had clasped it around his  
wrist, the clasp has disappeared. The chain stayed loose on his wrist but tight enough  
to keep it where it should be.   
  
"I..."  
  
Kel looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You?"  
  
"I have to go on a trip tomorrow," he told her, half telling the truth.  
  
"Oh. Okay." She hailed the waitress and asked for the check.  
  
"Glad you care so much," Neal muttered. He also asked the waitress for the check  
as she passed him by.  
  
"Did you expect me to throw myself at your feet and take back everything I said  
earlier?" Kel wanted to know. *Gods. Stop acting so cruel to him, Kel! He didn't  
do anything...but if any of the Master's spies are around, I have to pretend I hate  
him.*  
  
"No, but I thought..." he trailed off. "You know what? I don't know what I thought.  
Forget I said anything." The waitress dropped the check on his table and circled   
over to Kel's. Neal gave her two bronze nobles for her troubles, picked up his   
check, and took it to the front of the small restaurant, paying his bill there where  
the host stood.  
  
Neal mounted his horse, end-of-November wind sweeping through the streets of  
Corus. He tried to focus on getting a sword--what was it, the Sword of Adscabing?  
No, that didn't sound right. Sword of...  
  
"Abscador."  
  
The wind blew again.  
  
Something in his mind clicked.  
  
"Great Merciful Mother."  
  
It began to snow.  
  
***  
  
Merric and Garvey sat together outside the mess hall, having stolen into the kitchen  
while the pages and cooks had vacated it and filched some food.  
  
"I didn't see Kel or Neal in there today," Merric commented.  
  
"While you went into the library earlier," Garvey paused to swallow a chunk of   
bread, "I found Neal and Kel arguing in Neal's rooms. They broke up, I guess,   
because he came stumbling out looking like a cart and four horses had run him  
over. Although, I'll bet he felt that way."  
  
Merric grunted in agreement. Frowning, he thought back to when things had been  
normal, the last time he remembered normal was at Haven, before the Blayce  
business. He paid no attention to Garvey as the nutter kept on talking and raving  
about the break up of two of Merric's best friends.  
  
"Hey," Merric said suddenly. He set his plate on the floor and walked over to the  
window. "It's snowing."  
  
Garvey joined him at the window. "It *is* snowing..."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Merric asked, "Did you think I had lied to you?"  
  
Garvey elbowed him. "Shut your mouth, Hollyrose."  
  
Merric stuck his hand out of the window, catching two snowflakes on his hand that  
almost immediately melted. "I don't think it will stick, but at least we know it's  
officially winter."  
  
"If the cold wasn't enough of an indicator," Garvey added.  
  
"It'll be Midwinter soon..." Merric sighed. "Ordeals and all that will come. Do   
you think we can stick around long enough to see the Ordeals?"  
  
"Well..." Garvey trailed off. "We just have to keep an eye on Kel, and as long  
as *she* doesn't go anywhere, then we can stay."  
  
Snorting, Merric shook his head. "Some watchers we are. We didn't even   
know where Kel was."  
  
Laughing, Garvey shook his head too. "Ah well. What the Master doesn't know  
won't hurt him."  
  
"That's the kind of talk I like to hear from you, Runnerspring."  
  
They seated themselves again and ate the rest of their pilferred meal.  
  
***  
  
Lumbering inside, Udaan grumbled about the cold and snow. "I hate snow."  
He tried to pull his remaining arm farther into his sleeve but couldn't quite  
manage it. "I hate snow, I hate the cold. This is why I live in the desert in  
the winter."  
  
Justice came running in after him, yapping at him. "Yes, Justice, it's damn  
cold. Le's go inside."  
  
He stepped inside, trying to brush some of the water from himself but not  
succeeding. As he walked down the hallway, he passed by the knights'   
mess hall, and promptly tripped over nothing the same time Justice did.  
  
"...Uh oh."  
  
Udaan knew what that meant if both of them tripped over nothing and the  
Master wanted to keep an eye on Kel.  
  
*Garvey.*  
  
"C'mon, Just."  
  
He hurried down the hallway, glancing over his shoulder though he knew   
he wouldn't be able to see Garvey and whoever else he had with him.  
The puppy stopped to growl at the space she tripped on and hurried after  
Udaan, whimpering.  
  
"Let's go see yer ma," he told the puppy, lifting her up with his single arm  
and running the rest of the way to Kel's rooms.  
  
He found the door locked and no one there, so he promptly sat on the   
floor and waited for her return.  
  
He dozed.  
  
"Udaan?"  
  
He snored.  
  
"Udaan, wake up."  
  
Suddenly, his bottom hurt.  
  
"Ow. Thanks, Kel."  
  
"Why are you sleeping outside my door?" she asked, craning her head  
to look at him and holding her puppy.  
  
"Twas waitin' fer ye," Udaan grunted, rising from the floor. "Did ye have  
t' kick me so hard?"  
  
"Ah, you baby," she let him know as she opened her door. "In with you."  
  
Justice wriggled out of her hold and hopped onto her bed as she shut the  
door behind her and Udaan. "What's up?"  
  
"Did the Master give ye one of these?" Udaan held up his wrist. A gold   
chain dangled there, a clone of Neal's.  
  
Kel shook her head. "No."  
  
Forlornly, Udaan stared at the gold glinting the candle light. He took a deep  
breath and almost spoke, but shut his mouth, thinking the better of it.  
  
"Udaan?" Kel asked, looking at him oddly.  
  
"I ain't much of a help t' ye, am I, Kel?" he asked, eyes serious.  
  
"Of course you're a help," Kel told him, frowning. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Ye've..." he trailed off. "If I tell ye this, the Master's little charm will kill  
me. I don't wanna make a mess all over yer floor, so I'll tell ye later."  
  
Kel raised her eyebrows. "All right..."  
  
Udaan started for the door. "But I may be dead on the morrow anyway."  
  
"What are you *talking* about?" Kel demanded.  
  
"Well, I'll chance livin' tomorrow mornin'," Udaan decided. "Sleep well, Kel.  
Oh...where were ye and Neal?"  
  
Kel looked away sharply. "We aren't together anymore."  
  
"...Good lass. Ye may not feel it, but ye saved him a lot of trouble and   
prob'ly his life."  
  
Udaan left.  
  
Rubbing her temples, Kel sighed. She quickly changed into her nightshirt  
and flopped into bed. As he extinguished the candle, Justice jumped up   
onto the bed and curled up at the foot.   
  
"What a day." 


	19. Unexpected Escorts

Thanks be to: Keita, Min, Lady Sandrilene, huzzahuzza (or do you want me to call   
you by Insane Horse Lover?), Lady Wild Rose, Dracos Myth, Stacey, Sai, Em, Lady  
Kate, Farah  
  
Please take into consideration that I don't remember any of Alanna's kids but I do  
remember her son Thom and I've decided to give him a personality. So yeah.  
  
LOOK! LOOK! It's a long one! Yay! Please remember to read and review (most  
of you review anyway, but I appreciate it nonetheless!), 'cause it took me forever  
to get this one out. If you didn't already know, my dad's been in the hospital and  
he just came home today. I also won 3rd place at a writing competition, yay! So  
I'll be going to Dallas in April for the next level. Anyway, just enjoy this chapter!  
  
**Chapter 19: Unexpected Escorts**  
  
Neal packed quickly when dawn peered sleepily over the horizon. Although he hurt   
and still smarted from the incidents the say before, he figured he needed the   
distraction, whether or not it came from Joren. So he made sure everything was   
properly packed, slung his bags over his shoulder (musing slightly that he had used   
these bags more than any other time of his life in these past three months), and   
trudged reluctantly out to the stables. If anyone asked about him--well, he would  
rather let the rumors fly than explain what had happened at the restaurant the   
previous evening. He also had the creeping suspicion that the golden chain of no   
uncertain doom would manage to shut him up mid-sentence.  
  
--"If you try to take that off, you die. You disobey me, you die. You tell anyone   
what it is, and you die. Got it?"--  
  
The threat still echoed in his head, confirming the suspicion that the chain would  
shut him up. As he headed for the South Gate, he felt something light land on   
his shoulder.  
  
It cheeped at him.  
  
"Cane!" he exclaimed, happy to see the sparrow. "Where have you been lately,  
you silly girl?"  
  
She cheeped at him and pecked his cheek lightly.  
  
"Okay, okay. You aren't silly."  
  
Rubbing her head against his cheek, she chirped gleefully at him. He kicked his  
horse, Skunk, into motion, only to have Cane panic. She fluttered around his   
head until he stopped moving, gave a stern trill, and flew off. Not understanding  
what she had up her nonexistant sleeve, Neal waited for her return.  
  
In a few minutes, he understood.  
  
"No," he breathed. "Cane!"  
  
Somewhat bewildered, Kel trotted up to him on her horse, packed to go on a  
trip. "Smooth, Neal. Sending my own sparrow for me."  
  
Cane gave an indignant cry and fluttered around Kel's head. She landed on  
Neal's shoulder, fluffing up and trying to look protectice. Neal found his pouch  
of dried fruit and gave her a piece for her trouble, murmuring consoling thanks.  
  
"Ugh. I'm leaving," Kel announced, turning her horse around and starting to the  
stables.  
  
Cane dropped her half-eaten fruit on Neal's hand and flew over to Kel, landing  
on the lady knight's head and chirping angrily.  
  
"I think she wants us to go," he said. Kel gave him a Look, to which he added,  
"Together."  
  
"No. Absolutely not."  
  
Cane gave the shrillest, angriest cry she could muster.  
  
"Okay. Maybe I'll go."  
  
Neal laughed. "All right. Let's go, then." Can released Kel and came back to  
her breakfast, taking a spot on Skunk's mane.  
  
He tossed Kel a bag of dried meat, assuming she hadn't had time to eat, and  
once more kicked Skunk into motion.  
  
*Gods, why do you want to torture me?* Kel asked of them silently.  
  
*Gods, why do you want to torture me?* Neal asked of the divine beings at the  
same moment.  
  
Both sighed simultaneously and set out on the road.  
  
***  
  
"People will think we never broke up if we keep doing this," Kel stated to break  
the pervasive silence around them.  
  
"Doing what? And what people? It's only you and me," Neal informed her.  
  
"People at court, you fool, and both of us disappearing like this. Where are we  
going, anyway?" Kel wondered.  
  
"Copper Isles," Neal told her simply.  
  
"Why in the name of Mithros are we headed *there*?" Kel demanded.  
  
"Because," Neal sighed. *C'mon, Brain! Think fast!* he told himself. "His  
Majesty wanted an embassador from one of the ducal fiefs to go over there   
and speak with some of them."  
  
"Right. Why are you lying?"  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
Kel winced. "Point taken. You win, Queenscove."  
  
A moment of silence passed. "Ever heard of Emeral Edge?"  
  
"No."  
  
"That's the city we're going to."  
  
"Ah."  
  
More silence. Uncomfortable silence, at that.  
  
***  
  
"Kel?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can we have a truce? I don't want to be angry and arguing the entire trip."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
"I'm thinking."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
"Shut up. I can't think with you saying my name like that."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Neal!"  
  
"Like that?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
"What is it *now*? Do you want an answer or not?"  
  
"...Sheesh. I was just going to say sorry."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Neal?"  
  
"Yes, m'lady?"  
  
"A truce...is okay."  
  
"Good. Maybe we can eventually be best friends again."  
  
"Eventually..."  
  
Silence.  
  
***  
  
They stopped for the night on the side of the road headed for Pirate's Swoop.  
If they couldn't bum a free ride from George, then they would ride to Port  
Caynn, pool their money together, and purchase two passages on the next  
ship to the Copper Isles.  
  
That is, if they weren't laughed at and turned away. Plan C involved stowing  
away on a ship. Needless to say, Neal didn't much fancy Plan C. He had   
been in the bottom of cargo ships and they all smelled like dead fish, rotting  
eggs, or a privy, and when one came out from the bowels of such cargo ships  
one smelled like what lie below deck. He had discovered this on one of his  
rare shipboard trips with Alanna that usually turned out horribly. As far as he  
knew, Kel didn't get seasick, but he didn't know if she ever spent a prolonged  
period of time below deck with dead-fish-smelling cargo. He also didn't know   
how they could stow away their horses in safety and realized they would need  
to leave them with George.  
  
"Copper Isles my ass," Neal muttered darkly, shoving his stew around on his  
plate. He reached for the pot of water boiling on the fire, his bracelet glinting  
in the firelight.  
  
Kel frowned, recognizing it. She hadn't noticed it at the restaurant the evening  
before. "What's that?"  
  
"What's what?" he asked cluelessly, pouting himself a cup of tea.  
  
"The chain on your wrist." Kel pointed.  
  
"Oh, this?" Neal repeated. "My mother gave it to me at Queenscove as a sort  
of good luck charm." *How easily lies roll off your tongue, dear Nealan.* "I  
figured I should wear it on a lonely trip, especially since my father put a   
protection spell on it."  
  
"Can I see it?"  
  
Neal scooted closer to her and held out his wrist. "Don't take it off. It hurts  
like a bitch to take off and put on."  
  
Kel examined it. *The Master got to him...*   
  
She let go of his arm like it was a snake. "It burns when other people touch  
it, I guess."  
  
*We're both lying to each other.*  
  
A log in the fire popped loudly, scaring both Neal and Kel. "I'll do clean up,"   
Neal mumbled, his skin prickling from both nerves and Kel's fingers on his  
wrist. He took a long gulp of his tea and began collecting up the utensils.  
  
Kel nodded, taking one last bite of her stew before handing the plate over.  
Silently, he took the plates and dishes over to a small, nearby stream.  
  
"Damn you," Kel muttered, once Neal had disappeared from view. She   
looked up at the sky and spread her arms beseechingly. "Damn you!" she  
yelled, her voice echoing. "All of that...to protect him..." she uttered  
despairingly, dropping to her knees. "All of that...all of that for *nothing*!"  
  
*But he's not dead,* a little voice in the back of her head whispered in  
protest. *He's obviously obeying the Master...I think.*  
  
"He's not dead *yet*," Kel muttered darkly.  
  
She heard a yelp and a crash in the bushes.  
  
"Why the bushes again?" Kel sighed, rising to her feet. "I'll only go and see  
because I'm still a knight in Tortall." She peered into the bushes and found  
that they still made noise with no visible source. "Er..."  
  
"Kel!"  
  
"Mer--mmph!"  
  
"Shhh," Merric admonished. He held his hand over her mouth, watching her  
hazel eyes smolder at him. Quickly, he yanked his sword out and held thin  
air hostage.  
  
"Merric?" she whispered fervently. "What are you pointing at?"  
  
Garvey of Runnerspring materialized at the pointed end of Merric's sword.  
  
"What the..." Kel didn't get any father than that because Neal called out to  
her. "Stay here," she ordered, shoving Merric into the bushes and scampering  
back to the campsite. "Yes, Neal?"  
  
"Where did you go?" Neal wanted ot know as he began to pack up their   
supplies. "You scared me. I thought...I thought maybe someone had kidnapped  
you again."  
  
"Oh," Kel sighed. "Sorry." Cane flew around her head for a moment then   
glided and landed skillfully on Neal's shoulder.  
  
Neal grabbed his soap and said, "Well, I'll go take a bath...you can go after me."  
  
Kel nodded, desperately trying to keep her traitorous feelings suppressed. It  
made her feel horrible knowing that the Master had pulled Neal into his grasp and  
had begun to manipulate him, and knowing she had quite possibly pushed away   
the best thing in her life to protect him from the one person that had made him a  
puppet. As soon as Neal whisked off to the small stream again, Kel stole away to  
the bushes. Merric, followed by Garvey at some length of time, appeared before  
her. He reached out and took her by the elbow, crouching down with her.  
  
"You shouldn't be here," Merric hissed.  
  
Kel looked at both of them. "Concept. Neither should you."  
  
Garvey grumbled under his breath and sat down.  
  
"Kel, listen. You need to go back to Corus. You weren't supposed to come with  
Neal. The Master will go berserk--" Merric tried to tell her.  
  
"You too? He got to you too?" Kel inquired.  
  
Merric nodded gravely.  
  
"But he only wants Mer and I to--" Garvey stopped suddenly. He looked like he   
couldn't breathe.  
  
"Garvey?" Kel and Merric asked.  
  
"Garv?" Merric clapped him on the back. "Garv!" The man had gone rigid. Blood  
trickled out of the corner of his mouth, eyes wide. His fingers began to turn blue  
and swelled.  
  
"Kel."  
  
She didn't need any more prompting. They both scrambled out of the bushes with  
Mace, the cat Neal had found not so long ago, running out of the shrubbery behind  
them. When they reached the camp, Mace recognized the small sparrow, but the  
dog--Justice--began to chace the cat.  
  
"Mace!" Merric and Neal, who had just returned from the stream, yelled.  
  
"Justice!" Kel snapped.  
  
Both animals froze. Slowly, Mace slunk back to Merric while Justice sat at Kel's   
feet. Neal ran to Merric, examining the man. He grinned, the expression mirrored  
on Merric's face, and they hugged.  
  
"Hey man, long time no see!" Neal clapped him on the back.  
  
"Damn straight," Merric agreed.  
  
A golden band glittered at Merric's wrist. Neal saw it, looked at Merric with  
knowing eyes, and chuckled. "Well."  
  
Merric looked questioningly at Neal, then at Kel, and asked of her, "Does he   
know?"  
  
"No," Kel muttered.  
  
"What doesn't he know?" Neal demanded.  
  
"You can tell him and not die, Kel." Merric shrugged. He glanced down and saw  
Neal's own bracelet. "I can't. Neither can he."  
  
Kel shook her head. "I can't either!"  
  
"Why not? He'll find out. I'll tell him," Merric threatened. "I can tell him more than  
I can tell you." Shadows from the fire danced across his face, making him look like  
some forboding demigod. For a moment, Kel imagined the Master's face looked like  
Merric's, the flames engulfed and reflected in his eyes. "I know more than you   
know."  
  
Quietly, she asked, "Didn't you just say you couldn't tell him anything?"  
  
"Not technically. You saw what happened to Garvey."  
  
Kel blanched. Nodding, she looked to Neal and at Merric. "Argh..."  
  
Neal watched her intently. "Kel?"  
  
"I was kidnapped by a man named the Master...or at least, I think it's a man. He  
ordered me kidnapped and he wants to make me his queen or something foolish   
like that. He's the same one who gave you your bracelet..." Kel trailed off.  
  
Neal blanched then. *Joren kidnapped her?!*  
  
Heedless of Neal's thoughts, Kel went on. "He has some sort of magic that he found  
and it makes his servants literally undetectable." She turned to Merric. "Show him."  
  
Merric's fingers brushed the hilt of his sword, activating the magic of the Scroll of  
Abscador bestowed upon him.   
  
"Shit," Neal murmured. Merric reappeared a moment later.  
  
"He wanted me to get the Scroll of Abscador, but I couldn't. He got it himself though.  
Then...he started hounding me. Neal, he burned Mindelan to the ground and left me  
that message on our trip up there. He's trying to manipulate me into a position where  
I have no one left to turn to but him," she told him.  
  
Neal realized something then.  
  
She was trying to protect him.  
  
"I see...is that all?" he asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "Basically. He's been trying to manipulate me into a position where I  
want to go to him, and...I'm just playing along. I have to. I don't want anyone else  
to die. So pretend you didn't hear any of this from me."  
  
He agreed and sat down. "This is...a lot to take in."  
  
"I know."  
  
***  
  
They arrived at Pirate's Swoop six days later.  
  
Tired and somewhat bedraggled, the three of them hobbled into the Baron's castle.  
George recognized Kel and Neal immediately and admitted them into his castle,   
ushering Merric in with them. He sent a servant off to fetch them some refreshments  
and steered the three knights to his private office.  
  
"What brings ye to me castle, lad?" George asked of Neal.  
  
As the refreshments came in, Neal's eyes glued to them instead of the baron. "It's  
kind of complicated. I need passage to the Copper Isles with Kel and Merric but we  
have no way of getting there." Not two seconds after the tray had made contact   
with George's desk did the three hungry knights dive for food. Neal continued through  
a somewhat full mouth. "We have private business in the Isles, and I would appreciate  
it if--"  
  
"George!"  
  
"Pardon me a minute, lads, and lass," George excused himself. "Alanna!"  
  
Instead of watching the baron and his wife, the three ate as much as they could while  
the baron couldn't reprimand them, not that he would. They distributed three of the  
four cups of fruit juice and drank it down without hesitation.  
  
When George rejoiend them, they felt very drowsy. Neal, however, continued with  
his story. "As I was trying to say before we got interrupted, Merric, Kel, and I have  
some private business to attend to in the Copper Isles and we need safe passage  
there. We were wondering if, perhaps, you could lend us a vessel for the trip?"  
  
George thought a moment. "Well, it'd be pretty dangerous. Ye young ones out   
amongst the waves in enemy territory...but since ye said yer business is private  
I'll leave ye to it. I'll find ye a captain and a crew and a ship, but I can make no  
guarantees. If I can't find ye them in the next day, I'll give ye three the money  
to buy some tickets for a boat out of Port Caynn. Agreed?"  
  
Neal accepted the terms before the others had time to protest the baron's offer.  
"Thanks a bunch, George. We owe you."  
  
"Nonsense, lad." George clapped him on the back. "Ye serve Tortall, the least I  
kin do for ye is make sure ye tend to yer business safely, if not wisely."  
  
Barely, Neal smiled at his former knightmaster's husband and escorted his friends  
from the office. "It pays to have friends in high places."  
  
"I'll say," Merric agreed. He looked around. "So...do we have free reign on this  
place until George calls us back or what?"  
  
"Let's go find Alanna," Neal suggested. "I want to see how she is since I didn't  
get to talk to her while we were in Corus."  
  
"Does it seem like she's followed us lately?" Kel asked as they walked down the  
hallway in the direction they had heard George go.  
  
"I think it's just coincidence," Neal admitted. "I mean, she came to Corus in the  
first place to mourn my father, then I invited her to Queenscove, and now it's   
only logical that she come back home to be with her husband while she's--"  
  
"*Pregnant*?!"   
  
"Yes, while she's preg--pregnant?" Neal looked confused. "Which of you said  
that? I was going to say while she's not too busy..."  
  
"You're pregnant *again*?!" echoed a voice from down the hall.  
  
"That must be dear Thom," Neal sighed.  
  
Alanna and her oldest son came out of the nearest room, almost colliding with the  
knights. "Thom..." Alanna said, looking at her son imploringly.   
  
"Gods help us," Neal muttered. "He's eighteen and a terror to deal with."  
  
"Mother! I have two younger siblings as it is! I don't need anymore!" he told  
Alanna, whirling and storming down the hallway. He stopped when he spotted  
Neal, sneered, caught sight of Kel, rolled his eyes, and didn't bother with Merric.  
  
"Thom!" Alanna shouted. "Stop *right* there!"  
  
Against his better judgment, Thom kept moving.  
  
"Hey Thom," Kel called. "Maybe you should just listen to Alanna for a moment?"  
  
Thom turned to Kel, appraised her again, and retorted scaldingly with, "Fuck  
you. You don't know a damn thing about me."  
  
It took all of Neal's willpower not to hit Thom with all of his power.  
  
Instead, he punched Thom across the jaw with half of his strength. "Don't you  
*ever* speak to her that way ag--" he didn't have time to finish as Thom tackled  
him. Merric tried to separate the two futilely, as did Kel.  
  
They ended up in the castle infirmary a half-hour later with numerous cuts and  
contusions but nothing too serious. Alanna and George had both given them a  
stern talking-to, and now Kel and Merric stood by Neal as he healed himself. He  
had really only gone to the infirmary because Alanna had ordered him to, and, he  
added, the infirmary had more supplies and for free than he had.  
  
George joined them in the infirmary. "Is this how ye repay me, Neal?"  
  
"Er...George..." Neal started.  
  
"Sir, if I may," Merric interrupted. "Your son insulted Kel and as Kel's suitor,  
Neal had to protect Kel's honor."  
  
Briefly, George's eyes flickered to his son. "What'd he say, Kel?"  
  
"'Fuck you,'" she sighed. "It was offensive...I just suggested that maybe he   
should let Alanna talk..."  
  
Neal sneered at Thom. The two had never gotten along, much to Alanna's regret.  
The older boy had tried on numerous occasions to make peace with Alanna's  
oldest son but he would hear nothing of it.  
  
George ambled over to Thom and spoke quietly to him. Rolling his eyes, Neal left  
with Kel and Merric following behind him.  
  
"Let's go find Alanna," he suggested. Quietly, his companions agreed as they   
began their quest for the baroness. It stopped short at the gate to the castle.   
"Alanna?"  
  
Alanna looked up. "Oh. Hello Neal, Merric, Kel. Glad to see you're all right,   
Merric. Everyone had begun to worry about you."  
  
"I'm fine," Merric told her.  
  
"George said he would get us a ship to go to the Copper Isles, and we could stay  
here until he did," Neal explained. "We just want to know where we can sleep until  
then."  
  
Alanna thought for a brief moment. "Actually, we should have a ship leaving for  
the Copper Isles in a couple of hours. I'll send a servant down there with a letter  
from me granting your free passage."  
  
"Thanks," Neal told her.  
  
"Thank you," Merric and Kel chorused.  
  
Within the hour, Alanna had granted the three knights permission to sail with the  
ship to the Copper Isles for free and made them promise to stay safe. They did  
and trudged out to the ports, hopping onto the ships, and locating their cabins.  
  
"One ev ye will 'ave t' bunk wiv a-nudder," the captain informed them, wiping his  
nose with his sleeve and making a rather disgusting noise.  
  
"Huh?" Neal muttered to Merric.  
  
"One of us will have to bunk with another," Merric reiterated. "Sir, Neal and I will  
bunk together."  
  
"Az ye wish," the captain allowed. He bellowed for one of the sailors to come show  
their "stowaways" to their quarters, which were cramped and sickeningly small. Both  
had a window facing the sea and the horizon, but the beds were small and hardly  
allowed them to lie down in them, let alone sleep in them.  
  
Neal surfaced and stood on the deck as the ship pulled out of the port. He waved to  
Alanna as the wind billowed the sails.  
  
"Have a safe trip!" Alanna called from the port.  
  
***  
  
"Ugh," Merric commented, standing on the edge of the deck. Neal had tried to heal  
the knight's seasickness, but it kept coming back. Meanwhile, Kel had taken to   
playing cards with the sailors who had nothing to do, particularly the one up in the  
crow's nest. Again Neal attempted to chase the seasickness from his friend's body,  
but it just wouldn't budge. "Urp!"  
  
Neal winced.  
  
"Ughhh..." Merric commented.  
  
From the crow's nest, Kel called, "Pirates!"  
  
"Pirates?" Neal repeated. "Great. Just great. Pirates!"  
  
"Pirates..." Merric groaned. "Why did it have to be *pirates*?!"  
  
The pirate ship, sporting a flag in Copper Isle imperial colors, approached the ship  
from Pirate's Swoop with abnormal speed. It soon latched onto the Tortallan vessel  
and the pirates boarded the seacraft.  
  
"We're needin' yer loot, and a lot called 'Merric,' 'Neal,' and 'Kel.' Hand it over, and  
ye'll leave unharmed," the pirate instructed.  
  
Merric and Kel stepped forwardly bravely, drawing their weapons.   
  
Neal tried to hide.  
  
The captain of the Tortallan vessel shoved Neal forward, who grumbled and drew   
his sword as well.  
  
"Ye three the three I named?" the pirate asked skeptically. Kel nodded while Neal  
and Merric remained stationary. "On to the boat wiv ye."  
  
They didn't bother to move.  
  
"I really didn't wanna trash such a vessel," the pirate admitted. "Please just get   
yerselves on the ship."  
  
"Yeah!" the rest of the Tortallan ship chorused.  
  
Flabbergasted, the knights exchanged looks and trudged onto the pirate ship. A  
few moments later, most of the goods from the Tortallan seacraft found its way   
onto the ship, as well as the knights' belongings.  
  
"We're on the ship for less than two hours and we've already been kidnapped. How  
does this work?" Neal asked.  
  
"And why do they keep wanting to take Tortallans hostages? Especially me?" Kel  
added.  
  
"Why am I seasick? Who knows!" Merric told them bitterly.  
  
"Well, fine, if you want to act so...callous." Yawning, Neal curled up in the little area  
they had placed the three Tortallan knights in. "There's nothing we can do until they  
decide to let us go, so..."  
  
"Oi, you three," one of the pirates said. "Sorry t' make you stay in here for now,   
but we've got yer quarters ready now."  
  
"Okay," Kel agreed. She rose, the other two following her, and she started after   
the pirate. "Where are we headed?"  
  
"Copper Isles," the pirate answered. "We heard you needed a lift from the Master,  
and we decided to help out. We'll get ye to Emerald Edge faster'n that ship anyway.  
You know where Emerald Edge is? It's out'n the middle o'nowhere."  
  
"Okay," she agreed.   
  
They stumbled into their quarters and stayed there for the remainder of the   
evening.  
  
***  
  
"Oh, it's a pirate's life for meeeeee!" Neal bleated with a group of pirates out on   
the deck. He hadn't actually had much to drink, but the pirates around him had an  
infectiously rambunctious demeanor.  
  
Merric and Kel, on the other hand, stood on the other side of the deck, Merric still  
leaning over the railing.  
  
"It's definitely not a," he paused, "pirate's life for me, Kel."  
  
"Poor lad." A female voice floated over them from behind. She had long, curly   
blond hair with hard brown eyes, wearing a long-sleeved black and white shirt with  
crimson pants and brown boots. She wore a crimson hat on her head and held a  
mug in her hands. "Here, drink this." Carefully, she offered it to Merric, who took  
it with just as much caution and looked to Kel. "Don't worry 'bout me tryin' to   
poison you." She sounded somewhat educated for a pirate. "Believe me, lad, if I  
wanted to poison ye I would do it when your friend ain't around."  
  
Still, Merric looked at Kel briefly, shrugged, and slowly drank down the contents of  
the mug.   
  
"What's your name?" Kel asked skeptically.  
  
"Fane," she answered. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."  
  
"Have you always lived this life?" the lady knight asked curiously.  
  
Fane shook her head. "No. I was born a noble in northern Tortall, up yond on the   
Scanra border, and I was educated at the mage university. I decided that that  
life was too stuffy, came down to Port Caynn, and was apprehended by this lively  
lot. Our gap-toothed cap'n ain't much, but he can't sail a ship. Mekhail," she paused  
to point him out, "is my husband of sorts."  
  
"Interesting," Kel commented. "I've always been a knight."  
  
"Me too," Merric added.  
  
"And your friend?" Fane pressed.  
  
"He went to the university for a little while before he decided he would rather be  
a knight," Kel explained. Currently, Neal was cheering on Mekhail to drink down  
a large barrel of ale.  
  
"I thought I recognized him," nodded Fane. "I had seen him about at the university.  
Can't forget a face such as his."  
  
"Did he swoon after you?" Merric asked.  
  
Taken aback, Fane blinked. Then she began to laugh. "Oh, I don't know. I had   
only briefly seen him a few times, and spoke to him even less."  
  
"It's enough for Neal," Kel rolled her eyes.   
  
Fane chuckled. "You two are fun. What does the Master have you lot after?"  
  
Helplessly, Merric and Kel shrugged. "Neal is leading us."  
  
"Huh," Fane commented. "Oi! Mekhail!" she called, hurrying over to the circle where  
Mekhail had just fallen backwards into his companions.  
  
"How odd," Kel muttered. "Do you feel better, Merric?"  
  
The knight from Hollyrose nodded. "Yeah, I feel a lot better. I wonder if she studied  
healing? Neal tried to heal me earlier, but I guess I needed a potion..."  
  
Kel shrugged. "As long as it works, right?"  
  
"I guess," he agreed.  
  
Neal made his way over to them. "Hey, pals!" he greeted them. "Having fun?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Kel sniffed him. "You smell like ale."  
  
"Oh, I didn't hardly have any, just a cup or two. Maybe three. Or was it four? Who  
cares. But if you go over to the others--man, you haven't *smelled* ale until you   
get over there. They do this every night. It's a wonder they don't all keel over and  
die!"  
  
Kel looked up to the full moon and rubbed her temples. *Why does this kind of stuff  
always happen to me and mine?*  
  
"I'm tired. G'night, love."  
  
Neal landed with a thud on the deck.  
  
"Uh...you wanna get him?" Kel asked of Merric.  
  
"...You love him, you get him," Merric told her.  
  
"...I'm disliking you now."  
  
"As long as I don't have to touch him." 


	20. Stranded

Thanks: Keita, Min, IHL, clarylissa, Dracos Myth, Xelena, Sai, shaina, FantasyWind,   
Stacey, Lady Wild Rose  
  
Hi! If you want to know when Free Falling is updated, email me (can_o_7up@hotmail.com)  
and I'll add you to the mailing list thing (it's not really a mailing list, just a list of email   
addresses that I have dubbed the Mailing List where I just email you a notice when I've  
updated) or leave your email address in the review. I'll be sure to add you to the list.  
  
Anyway, it took me a little while (stress the phrase "little while") to get this out. I'm   
sorry but I've just had problem after problem after problem! First with my health and  
then with my dad's and then with homework! But it's all good. Now the chapter's out.  
And, thanks to Kate, I know what to write for Love Stinks chapter four, so that should  
be out soon (I hope). Um yeah. Sorry for the wait. Would 190 reviews be too much to  
ask for by the time chapter 21 is out?  
  
**Chapter 20: Stranded**  
  
---  
Dearest Jeraldine,  
  
Not a day goes by when I do not find you in my thoughts. I do wish I could see you in  
person and hear your lovely voice, see your beautiful face, and hold your delicate form  
in my arms. Longing fills my very being at the mere thought of you, and  
---  
  
"HEY!" Merric shouted as one of the pirates yanked his paper away from his grasp.  
  
"Whacha writin', lover boy?" one of the pirates asked.  
  
"What does it matter?" Merric demanded viciously.  
  
Another one of the female pirates, named Nichole, peered over the first pirate's   
shoulder and read with a stuttering tongue, "'Dearest Jer-Jeraldine, not a day goes by   
when I do not find ye in me thoughts. I do wish I could see you in per-pers-person   
and hear ye love-lovely voice, see yer betaful face, and hold yer del-deli-delicate   
form in me arms. Lo-lo-lo-longin' fills me very bein' at the mere thought of you, and...'  
What a sap!"  
  
"I think it sounds beautiful," spoke Fane from behind them all. She had just a couple  
of days after the trio's arrival on the ship begin to poke out in her stomach. Apparently  
she was pregnant with, presumably, Mekhail's baby.  
  
The crowd parted as Fane approached the letter-stealing pirate. "Can I see that?"  
  
The pirate handed it over mutely.  
  
"Here," Fane told Merric, giving him back the letter. He gave her a curt nod, folded the  
letter, and dashed into the cabin. With an exasperated sigh, Fane turned back to the  
pirates still gathered before her. "Shoo, you lot! Else I'll rat you out to the Captain."  
  
They scattered and Fane groaned, shaking her head.  
  
***  
  
Kel lied in her quarters, on her back, bored. Almost painfully aware of Neal's prescence  
in the room next to her, she tried to get her mind off of him. However, the more she  
tried to get her mind off of him, the more she couldn't stop thinking about him. The   
more she couldn't stop thinking about him, the lonelier she became, and the lonelier she  
became, the more she missed him, until she felt like she would die.  
  
*This is stupid,* she admonished herself. *Stop loving him so much!*  
  
Instead, she sat up and stared at the wall separating Neal from her. It loomed ahead  
of her, beckoning her to conquer it.   
  
*Stop it,* she told herself sternly. *Stop it, stop it, stop it.*  
  
Nonetheless, she rose and walked over to the wall, placing her hand gingerly on the  
wood panels. "It's just a wall," she whispered. It felt like so much more; it felt like a  
manifestation of the emotional walls she needed to build. It would be best if she could  
just forget Neal! If she could forget Neal, she could find a way to get rid of the Master.  
If she could find a way to get rid of the Master, she could be with Neal. "This hurts..."  
she murmured, resting her forehead against the wall.  
  
On the opposite side, Neal had done the same thing with his hand on the same spot as  
hers, forehead only a little higher.  
  
The wall represented something else entirely for Neal. He felt caged, barricaded from  
the woman he loved with every last part of his being. It was something he could change  
by force, but why would he do that? Forcing her to love him would be bad. But he knew  
she still loved him, if only because of what she had admitted to him not too long ago   
about the Master.  
  
Or was he grasping at ribbons of nothing?  
  
With a sigh, Neal flopped back on his bed. "This is dumb."  
  
Kel mimicked the motion on her side. "This is stupid."  
  
They let a half-hour while by until Neal finally sat up. "Gods, why am I doing this to   
myself? The least I could do is go talk to her. It's better than sitting here and torturing  
myself like this."  
  
So he rolled off of the bed, smoothed out his tunic, and left his room. With a deep  
breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the door to Kel's room.  
  
"Yes?" she called.  
  
His breath caught in his throat. "Uh...it's me."  
  
There was silence on the other side.  
  
Then, the door opened slowly.  
  
He offered her a tiny smile.  
  
She smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes.  
  
"Want to come in?"  
  
Nodding, he stepped in. She shut the door behind him, the soft click of the doorknob  
securing itself in the frame echoing much louder than it should have.  
  
"Um..." Neal trailed off.  
  
"Um," she echoed.  
  
"What's up?" they asked at the same time.  
  
Kel blushed and looked down while Neal looked at a rather interesting spot on the   
floor.  
  
"Nothing," Neal muttered. "I was bored."  
  
"Me too," Kel admitted.  
  
There was That Damned Silence again.  
  
They both just sat on her bed, Neal continuing to stare at that rather interesting spot  
and Kel looking anywhere but him.  
  
When they finally made eye contact, the silence became so oppressive that Kel rose  
from her spot on the bed and wandered over to the standing closet. She felt nervous  
with Neal, alone, in the room, especially after all of the things she had said to him  
not too long ago when they parted ways. She missed her dog and her sparrows, who  
had offered comfort in awkward situations like this.   
  
Neal gulped. *You can't seriously be considering what I think you're considering,* his  
brain said scathingly to his heart.  
  
*I am. Watch me!* his heart retorted gleefully.  
  
*Hey. Have you forgotten that I'M the one in charge up here?* his brain growled.   
*We don't move unless I say we move.*  
  
*Aw, c'mon. Have a heart!* his heart said jokingly.  
  
*You ARE my heart, you fool. And I say we aren't moving,* his brain answered with  
a tone of finality.  
  
*I don't care! ONWARD!* his heart cried.  
  
Neal's hand twitched on his knee. All he could do was sit back and listen to the  
debate going on between his heart and his brain without adding his own opinion.  
How could he, anyway?   
  
While his brain wasn't look, his heart took over.  
  
Neal rose from the bed and walked over to Kel, placing a hand on hers from behind,  
and his other hand on her hip. It made her breath catch in her throat, the hair on the  
back of her neck stand up straight, and muscle in her body go taut. "Neal..." she  
breathed out heatedly.  
  
"Shh," he advised her softly, sweeping her hair aside to bare her neck. "Your hair's  
longer than it used to be...I just realized that."  
  
"Neal..." she said louder.  
  
He dropped a butterfly kiss on her neck.  
  
She shivered.  
  
He did it again and soon tugged her sleeve down from her shoulder, trailing kisses  
from her neck to her shoulder and back.  
  
"Neal..." she sounded strained. "We...we can't..."  
  
"Do you love me?" he murmured against her neck, both hands resting lightly on her  
hips now.  
  
"What kind of question is that?" she asked, her voice barely audible.  
  
"An honest one."   
  
She wished he would quit moving his lips on her skin like that and letting his fingers  
dance on her hips. "I..."  
  
A knock at the door startled them apart.  
  
"I have to answer the door."  
  
Kel darted over to the door while Neal went over in his head what he had just done.  
  
At her doorway stood Merric, fiddling with a sheet of parchment nervously and   
looking down as he rocked on his heels. "Kel? Can I ask you a favor?"  
  
"Of course," nodded Kel. "Come in." She held the door open as he entered and  
shut the door behind her without the ominous noise it made earlier. "What can I  
do for you, Merric?"  
  
Hurriedly, Merric sat on the bed, catching a glimpse of Neal standing by the closet.  
Well, he could use Neal's experience with the ladies and courting on this anyway,  
so he might as well keep him around instead of asking him to leave. "Kel, can you  
read this over and make sure it doesn't sound stupid?"  
  
Kel read the first few lines and made a face. "This is to that flowery court lady,  
Jeraldine, that I met when Neal first found me?"  
  
"Flowery court ladies are my specialty," Neal piped up, walking over to the bed   
and taking the letter from Kel. "...But *this* is a bit much, even for *me*."  
  
Merric's face fell. He snatched the letter back from Neal and pouted at it. "What  
should I say, then?"  
  
"Well, you could start out the way you did, with 'Dearest Jeraldine.' The rest..."  
Neal peered at the letter again and shuddered. "The rest will have to either be  
modified or gotten rid of."  
  
Kel nodded. "If it were me, I'd do away with the whole 'dearest' thing and just  
start out with 'Jeraldine.'"  
  
"That's because you don't have one romantic bone in your body, Keladry," Neal  
teased her good naturedly.  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him. "And you're a complete and utter fool when it  
comes to love letters."  
  
"Hey, I can write love letters with the best of them. You lot just got my first  
attempts! The rough drafts," Neal explained with a cocky tone.  
  
"Is that so?" Kel snickered.  
  
"It is."  
  
Kel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Right. I believe you."  
  
"You never read the final drafts. The court ladies swooned! Except when they  
were either engaged or married or otherwise courted."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
Neal stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"I'll cut it off," Kel threatened playfully, drawing her dagger. *What am I doing?*  
she wondered suddenly. *...It's like...it's like we never said any of that horrible  
stuff to each other.*  
  
Uncomfortably, Merric stared at his letter and listened to his friends' banter. "I  
think I'll just go ask Fane," he muttered, rising and heading for the door.  
  
"Merric?" Kel asked.  
  
"I'm going to go find Fane and since she was raised as a 'flowery court lady,' I'll  
ask her opinion," he explained. "Make sense? You certainly aren't a flowery   
court lady, Kel, and as much as Neal acts like one, he isn't a flowery court lady  
either."  
  
"Hey..." Neal protested.  
  
Merric flashed his friend a grin. "See you later."  
  
They watched as he left the room. Kel sniggered quietly and walked over to the  
door. "I'm tired of staying below deck. Want to come above deck with me?"  
  
*What are you doing?!* her brain yelled. *Stop! Stop! Mayday!*  
  
"For a little while," Neal agreed.   
  
***  
  
As Merric searched for Fane, he neglected to call out her name. It was good thing he  
kept quiet, he found out as he almost turned around a corner. Two of the pirates stood  
leaning against the side of the boat, chatting and shirking their duties. One held a   
mop in his hand while the other one held a bucket of sudsy water and a dirty rag.  
  
"Feh, I say we jus' forget all this Master business," Mop said.  
  
Bucket shrugged. "I don' give a shit, long as we get gods-damned paid for this."  
  
"Here here," Mop agreed. "Didja hear the latest news got leaked? 'Bout all that  
Aescili business?"  
  
Eagerly, Bucket shook his head. "No, whadja hear?"  
  
"Heard that Aescili ceremony thing's to be held at that Olau fief yond in To'tall," Mop  
informed him. "Hear it's 'cuz of all the ancient magic lef' there or somethin'."  
  
"'Zat so?" asked Bucket. "D'ye know when it'll get held?"  
  
"Somethin' 'bout an equinox or somethin'," Mop shrugged. "Beats me, though. I  
couldn't care less 'bout it."  
  
"Ahoy! Why are you slacking, you empty-headed fools?" called out a clear voice from  
across the deck. *Fane,* Merric recognized. "You numb-skulled lackeys, get back to  
work!"  
  
Fane lumbered across the deck, glaring at Bucket and Mop until they went back to   
work. Intelligently, Merric choose that moment to round the corner, acting like he   
was in search of Fane. "Fane!" he yelled.  
  
"Ahoy, Merric!" she answered, meeting him halfway. "What troubles you?" Instead  
of answering, Merric merely fiddled with his parchment. "Oh, you want me to help  
you with the letter?"  
  
"I-if you wouldn't mind," he stammered. "I would understand if you didn't want to--"  
  
"I'd be pleased to help you," Fane told him in her most enunciated Common. "Let's  
go to my cabin."  
  
***  
  
Udaan stepped through the stone archway marking the entrance to his destination.  
Two armed guards dressed in ratty livery stepped in front of him, one sporting a   
glaive while the other wielded a spear. "What do ye want?" Glaive grunted out in  
thickly accented Common.  
  
"I need to speak wit' he who's inside, tha's wha' I want," Udaan growled.  
  
"Can't let you pass," Spear answered.  
  
"Oh, shove it, Mitsuiji, Fraed," Udaan snapped. "Lemme through. I got impor'ant  
business concernin' Kel."  
  
Mitsuiji, the one holding the glaive, shot a look at Fraed with the spear. Slowly,  
they both stood straight, holding their weapons at the ready position. Pretending  
to scratch his armpit, Udaan made sure that the dagger hidden there was easily  
accessible if he needed it. He carefully stepped through the stone archway and  
began to breathe slightly easier. Fraed and Mitsuiji would be the least of his   
problems.  
  
As quietly as possible, Udaan continued through the hallways that made up the  
catacombed fortress he had been granted access to. He approached another  
set of guards, this time each armed with a sword and a dagger at their waist and  
who knows what else elsewhere.   
  
"Hello," he told them. They were two big, burly Scanran mountain men dressed  
in better livery than the guards at the main entrance. Udaan seemed to remember  
that these guards only spoke Scanran and switched over. "Let me through."  
  
The guard on the left hand side allowed his eyes to flicker over at Udaan briefly.  
Rather than grant Udaan the permission he sought, Left just stood straighter and  
more intimidating.  
  
*Why can't these folks jus' cooperate wit' me?* Udaan thought desperately.  
  
"I need to speak with the big man," Udaan continued.  
  
This time Right looked at him and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Come on, you guys!" the Bazhir man yelled exasperatedly. He wished he had  
both arms so he could wave them angrily at the two Scanran guards. One arm  
didn't really intimidate anyone. "Does news not travel in this place? I have to  
tell the man inside about Kel!"  
  
Left and Right stood at attention and promptly moved aside, allowing Udaan to  
pass through.   
  
"Gods," he muttered, switching back to his native Common. Although he was  
Bazhir by heritage, he was by no means raised as a desert man. He did,   
however, harbor a penchant for the warmer temperatures and tended to   
hybernate in the desert during the winter months in Tortall.  
  
With a deep breath, Udaan trekked down to the last archway, this time blocked  
by a cast-iron gate with intricate patterns, as well as a pair of well-dressed   
Tortallan guards. They stood a little taller than Udaan, both male, and obviously  
identical twins.   
  
"Message about Kel for him," Udaan stated simply and tried to walk past the  
guards.  
  
The swords suddenly found a home hovering just above his neck.  
  
Udaan froze, needless to say.  
  
Left grunted something unintelligible and motioned with his dagger at something  
over Udaan's shoulder. Nodding, Right jabbed his sword closer to Udaan and  
rumbled, "Stay."  
  
Right lumbered off, did something behind Udaan's back, and came back, towing  
a brown-haired messenger boy. The gate swung open, admitting the boy to its  
depths, then promptly shut behind him. Nervous but trying desperately not to  
show it, Udaan fiddled with his belt purse.  
  
The messenger showed up what seemed like an eternity later. "Okay. He says  
to let 'im in."  
  
Right and Left sheathed their swords and held open the gate for the messenger  
and Udaan. Quickly, they passed each other, Udaan running into the largest   
wing of the fortress.  
  
The fortress itself perched on a hill with several walls preventing entry and a   
shield using ancient magic to shield it from view, both from human and animal.  
Its walls hindered most from ever entering if they got past the magic shield,  
and if the walls didn't prevent them, the guards did. There were few cases like  
Udaan, who got past the magic shield, the walls, and the guards into the inner  
core and largest wing of the fortress. Once past the first set of guards, one  
entered the core of the structure, a catacomb of dead-end hallways and stairs  
that led nowhere. Once past those and the second set of guards, one approached  
the inner core. It branched off into wings, one very large east wing, a smaller  
north and south wing, and a smallest west wing.  
  
Udaan's goal was the man inside the east wing.  
  
***  
  
"LAND HO!" called a pirate from the crow's nest.  
  
Pirates began scrambling around the deck in preparation for docking. Fane had  
explained to Kel, Neal, and Merric that when they anchored, it wouldn't be at a  
port like Port Caynn. It would most likely be at a patch of beach near Emerald  
Edge, rather than directly at the town. They were known at Emerald Edge, but  
not not liked. Tolerated, but unliked. The knights were also advised to wear  
something other than Tortallan livery--the Copper Isles and Tortall hadn't been  
on speaking terms since the days of the Dominion Jewel, nearly twenty-five   
years ago. Or something like that. The years didn't matter exactly, but the   
knights wouldn't be accepted and that was the point.  
  
"Let's go wait in my room," Merric suggested. "It seems we'll just hinder the  
progress out here."  
  
Neal and Kel nodded in agreement and rushed with Merric down to his rooms.  
Once safely there, Merric took out his letter to Jeraldine, rereading it to make  
sure it gave no hints of his whereabouts.  
  
"Have you written to her often since you last saw her?" Kel wanted to know.  
  
"I've tried, but Garvey wouldn't let me," sighed he. "That sounds incredibly  
childish, but it's true. Every time I would write one and try to send it he would  
find out and intercept it." Merric played with the gold bracelet on his wrist. "You  
are *so* lucky that the Master didn't give you one of these."  
  
"Do either of you know who the Master is?" Neal asked guardedly.  
  
Sighing, Kel shook her head. "Not me. Udaan told me that nobody knows what  
he looks like because he appears different to everyone."  
  
*He appears different to everyone? Maybe he just decided to appear as Joren  
to me...* Neal wondered. *No. That really WAS Joren. I know it was. There   
was no way he could have been someone else.*  
  
"Garvey told me to see the Master means death," Merric offered. "So perhaps  
we're better off not knowing?"  
  
All three of them considered this and finally decided that, indeed, they were   
better off not knowing what the Master looked like.  
  
*Does that mean Joren plans to kill me, then?* Neal thought, trying to listen to  
the conversation his two friends carried out in front of him. The thought of   
Joren trying to kill him sent a shiver down his spine. *And with that magic of   
his...* he glanced down at the bracelet. *With that new magic of his, Joren can  
do a lot of damage...*  
  
They continued to talk about whatever came to their attention, all three trying to  
ignore the underlying tension about the Master and why they had truly come to  
Emerald Edge. Soon night fell, and they reached the beach Fane had told them  
about.  
  
Someone knocked furiously on Merric's door.  
  
"Coming!" Merric called, rising from the bed where he sat with Neal and Kel   
and opening the door. Mikhail grinned at them. "Hello, Mikhail."  
  
"C'mon, ye lot," he said. "Le's getcha up to Emeral' Edge. Fane tol' me to tell  
ye lot that we'll be waitin' here fer ye."  
  
Merric nodded. "Thanks."  
  
Neal and Kel rose behind him and followed Merric and Mikhail up to the deck.  
They had set up a couple of wooden boards just wide enough for one person  
at a time to walk across over to the beach.   
  
"It's precaution," Fane explained. "We're going to move up the shore a little  
bit, over to a cove we've claimed for ours."  
  
"I understand," Neal told her. "Well, go on, Merric."  
  
"Me?" the knight from Hollyrose yelped.  
  
"Yes, you," the duke of Queenscove narrowed his eyes. "Go on."  
  
"I'll--" Kel started to say.  
  
Neal shook his head.  
  
Sighing, Merric stepped onto the boards carefully, afraid they would break  
under his weight. As soon as he stepped onto the sand on the other side, he  
waved to Kel. She, even more carefully than Merric, crossed the boards and  
dug her feet into the sand at the opposite side, not at all grateful for the   
experience the pirates had provided her with the boards.   
  
Neal gulped and inched across the boards.  
  
As soon as he had his feet on solid ground, the pirates snatched up the boards  
and moved up the coast.  
  
"Well," Neal stated. They looked around them. It was a small beach, covered  
with fine sand and a single rock jutting out from the center of it. Cliff walls   
towered above them, covered in emerald green moss. "This would be why it's  
called 'Emerald Edge,' I would suppose."  
  
Merric looked around the base of the cliffs. "I think we have a slight problem   
here, you two."  
  
"What?" Kel asked.  
  
"I think we've been screwed over," Merric informed them. "They took off with  
our things and dropped us off at a beach with no visible way to get off except  
by boat."  
  
Simultaneously, Neal and Kel groaned. Then they began to search for a way  
to get up to Emerald Edge.  
  
When they decided they were stranded, Kel sighed and sat on the rock. "Well,  
it was nice knowing you two."  
  
"This was a waste of time," Merric muttered.  
  
"...Well, if we start to starve, let's eat Merric," Neal suggested.  
  
"What?!" Merric cried.  
  
Kel hit Neal on the arm. "Don't be foolish."  
  
Neal shrugged and rubbed his arm. "I was serious. I know which parts of the  
human body are edible!"  
  
Merric whacked him over the head. "Just stop talking. You're the one who got  
us into this mess in the first place."  
  
"Me?! How did *I* do this?" Neal demanded, rubbing his head. "And will you  
two stop using me as your personal training dummy?"  
  
Kel sighed. "Neal's right. We should stop using him as our personal training  
dummy. Anyway, I don't think it matter who got us into this situation as much  
as how we get out of it."  
  
Merric and Neal both plopped down on the rock with Kel.  
  
"I still say we should eat Merric."  
  
"We've been here for fifteen minutes."  
  
"I'm always hungry."  
  
"Well you're not eating *me*."  
  
"You're the fleshiest."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You are!"  
  
Kel smacked both of them. "Stop being little boys and think!"  
  
"Yes, Mother Kel," they chorused, and obeyed. 


	21. One Step Closer

Thanks to: Keita, Lady Sandrilene, Kate, Xelena, Stacey, Lady Wild Rose, StarFire  
IHL/CF, lovaofmusicandwriting, The Inkblot Faery  
  
Thank you for all those wonderful comments, all of you! ^_^  
  
*sighs and checks the Tortallan calendar*  
  
Well, Joren said he wanted the sword by the first of February, did he not? It   
looks like February is fast approaching in the Tortallan universe. It's the very  
last week of December back in Corus, but look where our friends are--marooned   
at Emerald Edge in the Copper Isles.   
  
Let's try for 200 reviews, okay?  
  
Oh, and for those of you who got an email from me: Most of you apparently didn't  
read the author notes at the beginning of the last chapter or forgot to leave your  
email address, so instead of simply taking those who told me they wanted on the   
list and emailing them, I took the liberty and time out of finishing this chapter to  
write down every single person that left their email address and had reviewed.  
  
**Chapter 21: One Step Closer**  
  
Frustrated, Neal ran his hands alongside the walls of the cliffs towering over   
them, shielding the town of Emerald Edge from his view. He did, however, sense  
the Sword of Abscador just as Joren had told him he would. That made him edgy,  
feeling the Sword beckon his Gift to come find it and not being able to locate it.  
  
Finally, Kel tugged on Neal's sleeve questioningly. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Fine," he muttered. The buzzing noise in his head from the Sword was starting  
to give him a headache--one he couldn't cure because the source was the humming  
of his Gift.  
  
"Aha!" Merric cried triumphantly, his voice echoing off of the walls of a small opening  
he had found, wide enough for two men abreast and tall enough for a man about two  
heads shorter than Kel. He stuck his arm out of the opening and yelled, "Come here,  
you two! I think I found a way up!"  
  
Quickly, Kel and Neal ran over to Merric, finding the space cramped until Kel and  
Merric moved up to a staircase looming ahead. Torches flickered into the dark abyss,  
casting shadows helter-skelter along the passageway. "I'm pretty sure this leads up  
to Emerald Edge," Merric explained. "I could hear voices up there."  
  
"Which means the voices up there can hear the voices down here," Kel whispered.  
  
"Well," Neal sighed. He took out a white handkerchief he had gotten for Midwinter   
one year from Yuki and found a stick. Impaling the white cloth on the stick, he  
offered it to Merric, who had been unwittingly elected the leader of the group.   
"Let's show them we mean no harm, then. It's the only thing we can do until I get  
what I need to get and we swim back to Fane and Mikhail and the pirates."  
  
"We're stranded." Consolingly, Kel patted him on the shoulder.  
  
Merric held the white kerchief on the stick out in front of him, hoping that when   
they reached the top no one would be there to append them despite their good  
intentions. Well, his and Kel's intentions were good, but he didn't know about Neal's  
because the knight had refused to share the true ambition of this expedition.  
  
When Merric reached the top of the stairs, the stairwell opened up onto a wide field   
of greenery...and several swords pointing at him. He promptly dropped the stick he  
had been holding and moved to the side, allowing Kel and finally Neal up onto the  
property.  
  
"...Why am I not surprised this happened?" Neal whispered to Merric. He had been  
squished between Kel and the other knight.  
  
Merric just rolled his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Rather than raise a fuss, the three knights allowed themselves to be apprehended  
and taken to a holding building. It was a squat, box-shaped structure with white-  
washed walls and a dirt floor. It was divided in half, with the right side divided into  
three, fair-sized blocks. Facing the cells was a desk with a man sitting behind it,  
armed with a sword. On the left side of the desk was a small cabinet mounted on  
the wall with a swinging door and a padlock. On the other side of the desk was a  
floor-to-ceiling bookcase filled to the brim with books of all sorts.  
  
The structure itself had two windows on the side with the desk. On the side with  
the cells, it had three tiny, rectangular windows barred with iron rods. Apparently,  
Neal, Kel, and Merric had been arrested.  
  
"Uh, Master Scary-Looking Guard Man?" Neal called carefully.  
  
Kel hit him. "Don't call him 'scary-looking.'"  
  
He shot her a Look and turned his gaze back to Master Scary-Looking Guard Man.  
"Why have we been held here?"  
  
Master Scary-Looking Guard Man just sat behind his desk, reading. Occasionally  
he would run a hand through his thining salt-and-pepper hair or stroke his matching  
beard thoughtfully. Once he even stood up and smoothed out his dark blue tunic,  
black slacks, and white shirt.  
  
"Sir?" Kel asked. It had been about three hours since they were taken in from the  
hidden stairwell.  
  
The guard actually looked up at her.   
  
"Sir, if I may ask, why are we being held here?" Kel continued innocently.  
  
The guard set down his book and walked over to the cell, where he stood with   
his arms crossed over his chest. He chewed his lip thoughtfully and finally answered  
with, "You were trespassing."  
  
"Oh," Kel sighed. "We didn't know the beach was private property. You see, we're  
not from the Copper Isles."  
  
Narrowing his eyes, the guard nodded. "We know."  
  
"We're from Galla, sir," Kel continued.  
  
The guard looked surprised for a moment, then shook his head and narrowed his   
eyes again. "You're not. You're from Tortall."  
  
"Sir!" gasped Kel. "I beg your pardon, but we are not!"  
  
"You wear Tortallan colors," the guard told them.  
  
"We lived directly on the border of Galla and Tortall," she replied. "My family traded  
a lot with Tortallan merchants. We were tailors."  
  
"Why do you wear men's clothing?" the guard asked suddenly. "Why do you wear  
your hair short?"  
  
"Sir, no offense, but have you ever tried to wear a dress in the dead of winter in   
Galla?" Kel told him.  
  
A strange look crossed the guard's face and he shook his head.  
  
Kel smiled. "That's what I thought. Sir, we apologize for trespassing, but we had no  
ill intent. You see, on our way here, we were kidnapped by pirates and then robbed  
and dropped off at the beach. We have nothing in the way of clothes or supplies,"   
she told him. Tears began to fill her eyes. "We had no idea we were trespassing on  
private property. Sir, we were only trying to get here to some family members that  
live on the Islands! My husband and I," she motioned to Neal, "and my cousin," she  
pointed to Merric, "just wanted to visit some family members."  
  
Neal walked up behind Kel and wrapped an arm around her waist, using the other  
hand to stroke her hair. "There, there, love," he murmured. "Everything will turn  
out all right." He shot a dirty look at the guard for making his "wife" cry.  
  
Kel turned and buried her face in Neal's shoulder, wailing and sobbing like only a  
woman who had seen court ladies do that too often could.  
  
Merric stepped up to the bars holding them inside the cell. "Sir, I think you should  
apologize to my cousin." He lowered his voice then. "She's very sensitive, and I  
really wouldn't want to make her mage husband angry."  
  
The color drained from the guard's face. "M-mage?" he whispered.  
  
Merric nodded gravely. "He served at the court in Cria for a while before he married  
my cousin. In fact, they were going to move back to the court to be the king's   
personal mage in Cria after our trip here."  
  
The guard backed away, then ran over to the cabinet on the wall, unlocked it, and  
pulled out a key. He hurried back to the cell, jammed the ket he grabbed into the  
lock, and pulled open the door. "So sorry, so sorry," he apologized. "We saw the  
pirates and thought you were with them, not having gotten attacked by them."  
  
Neal snorted. "Right. I'll make sure His Majesty hears about this!"  
  
The guard trembled.  
  
"Come along, dearest. Merric," Neal nodded.  
  
The guard watched them leave and shakily sat down behind the desk again.  
  
***  
  
"That was brilliant, my dear," Neal murmured in Kel's ear as they walked about   
Emerald Edge. They needed to find a place to sleep...  
  
Kel nodded. "Thanks. You learn a few things here and there when you've been as  
many places as I have."  
  
Neal chuckled.   
  
"I hate to interrupt," Merric broke in, "but we need to find some place to sleep   
tonight. Never mind the fact that we have no Copper Isle currency."  
  
They found a small inn and approached it cautiously. Tired of being pushed around  
by Neal, Merric elected him as their envoy. Grumbilng, Neal entered the inn and   
came out a few moments later, carrying keys. "Apparently word of my being this  
royal mage has gotten out," he said. "A room for my 'wife' and I, and a room for  
you." Neal tossed Merric his key. "Let's go."  
  
They entered the inn and found their rooms. Instead of being next to each other  
like normally, they were staying on either side of the hallway. Merric had a big   
room all to himself, with a large bed and a wide window. Neal and Kel had an   
equally as large room, with a slightly bigger bed. Two wardrobes stood against  
the wall with a desk across the room, and the bed was pushed up against the  
wall. Heavy curtains hung in front of the window in an attempt to keep out the  
chilly winter wind.  
  
"Tired," Neal muttered. "I'll sleep on the floor."  
  
"Don't be stupid," Kel snapped. "You can sleep on the bed. It's not like we   
haven't done that before without touching each other."  
  
"All right..." Neal agreed uncertainly. It was torture the last time they were in  
the same bed together and he couldn't touch her. Shaking his head clear of those  
thoughts, he shed his tunic, shirt, socks, and boots and flopped onto the bed,  
snuggling under the covers. "G'night, Kel."  
  
"G'night Neal," she murmured, but he was already asleep. She too shed her tunic,  
boots, and socks, but she kept on her shirt and pants. It wouldn't be very   
comfortable, but it was better than freezing to death. She eased into the bed,  
careful not to wake him up, and soon fell asleep herself.  
  
Once Neal heard the gentle and even flow of Kel's breath indicating her surrender  
to slumber, he softly tiptoed out of bed. Quickly, he gathered his clothes and strapped  
his sword to his waist--sleeping with his sword on was something he had never grown  
accustomed to and probably never would--and trod softly out of the room. Once   
safely in the hallway, Neal pulled on his shrit and his tunic, re-strapping his sword over  
the tunic, pulled on his socks, and finally laced his boots. He could feel the Sword of  
Abscador nearby. The buzzing in his head had grown louder when they reached the  
inn.  
  
He raced down the stairs as quietly as he could and ran out of the door, looking around.  
*Okay, Queenscove,* he said to himself. *Calm down. Concentrate on it. Where is it  
coming from?*  
  
He closed his eyes and stood out in front of the inn looking like an idiot, but at least he  
could sense which direction the Sword was.  
  
Slowly, he opened his eyes and rotated towards the direction he felt the pull. Down in a  
little cove of trees was a temple. That was Neal's destination.  
  
***  
  
Uncertainly, Neal stood in front of the temple, the buzzing noise now a strong humming.  
It was definitely in this temple. Carefully, he walked up the temple steps and pushed open  
the door, the humming now a pounding. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the   
brightly-lit interior but when he got his bearings back, he found the temple to be a flat,  
wide open structure with an altar at the rear of it. A statue stood on each side of the   
altar, holding candles.  
  
Where was the sword?  
  
A dedicate in temple colors approached Neal. "May I help you?"  
  
*Think fast,* he told himself. "I heard on the mainland that this temple here had a holy  
sword or something like that? I wanted to see it. I have a penchant for weaponry."  
  
The dedicate looked confused. "No...we don't have anything like that."  
  
"Oh," Neal frowned. "Thank you anyway."  
  
He left the temple, utterly perplexed. Maybe it was in the rear of the temple and they  
didn't know it? Curiously, he crept around to the back of the building, noticing that this  
cliff-side town had a lot of squat buildings. He realized that since they were right on the  
ocean and a beach town nonetheless, they would need squat buildings that natural   
disasters wouldn't collapse.  
  
The buzz in his head became a thorough pounding until he couldn't take and dropped to  
his knees.  
  
"Ow!" he yelped. He looked down. His knee had dropped on the pommel of a sword,  
not his own. "Could this...?" he muttered and cautiously grabbed it. The buzzing   
vanished as he raised the sword closer to his face. It was made out of a lustrous   
silver steel so clean it shone nearly white, and the pommel was decorated with tiny  
emeralds. "It's it."  
  
He grabbed the sheath from the ground, sheathed the sword and strapped it to his  
waist opposite his usual weapon. Briefly, he looked up to the sky and nodded,  
whispering, "Thanks."  
  
He took off back to the inn.  
  
***  
  
Neal was relieved to find that Kel hadn't missed him while he was absent. Carefully,  
he set the Sword of Abscador inside the standing wardrobe, stripped down to his   
pants, and slipped back into bed.  
  
When morning finally came, Kel woke at dawn and found that she had snuggled up  
to Neal and he had his arm around her waist. *Dammit,* she cursed, turning her  
gaze on him. *How does this always happen? I think I have some security issues  
or something.*  
  
Against her better judgment, she closed her eyes and savored the feeling of being  
in Neal's arms.  
  
"I know you're awake," he whispered.  
  
Kel sighed and began to move, but Neal clamped his arm tighter around her waist.  
"We can pretend that I don't know though," he added.  
  
Slowly, she turned over so she faced Neal instead of having her back to him. His  
green eyes pleaded with her. *Gods, Neal,* she thought. *Why do I have to love  
you so much?* And in a very uncharacteristic moment, she moved her head on  
the pillow the scant distance between them and claimed his lips with her own.  
He returned the kiss gently, savoring the moment. He wasn't quite sure, but he   
thought he whimpered when she pulled away. However, she did rest her forehead  
against his. "Goddess, Neal..." she whispered.  
  
"Shhh," he whispered back, holding a finger to her lips. "Don't. Don't talk."  
  
She closed her eyes and swatted away his hand. "I love you," she told him, her   
voice barely a whisper. "Goddess, Neal, I love you so much..."  
  
*Everything's happening all at once,* Neal thought. He pressed his lips to Kel's  
again. "I love you too."  
  
"I never stopped," she confessed. "I don't mean any of the things I said to you.  
Gods, I didn't know it would be so hard to pretend I don't love you. I thought it  
would be easy to pretend I hate you. I thought I could protect you but..."  
  
At that point, she had burst into tears and buried her face in Neal's shoulder.  
  
"Shhh, baby," he said soothingly. "Shhh...I'm here." Gently, he helped her sit  
up and wrapped his arms around her waist, his heart bursting. "It's okay." He  
smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead, wiping away her tears. "I   
love you."  
  
"Look at me," she said, hiccoughing. She leaned back and dragged her sleeve  
across her eyes and offered a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm   
sobbing like some court lady." Gingerly, she stepped out of the bed and smoothed  
out her clothes. Neal watched her as she wandered over to a basin of water sitting  
on the desk and splashed some on her face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that."  
Quickly, she dried her face off and found her tunic. "I didn't want to break down   
like that."  
  
"I don't care," shrugged Neal. He too went over to the basin and washed off his  
face. When he turned back around to get his clothes, Kel had already dressed   
herself. "You go ahead and wake Merric up. I got what we came here for last   
night."  
  
Kel nodded and left the room as Neal got dressed. A few moments later, Kel   
came back with a refreshed-looking Merric.   
  
"Sleep well?" Merric asked, his eyebrows raised as Neal's rumpled appearance.  
  
"As well as I have since the Master recruited me." He quickly finger-combed his  
hair and armed himself. Kel and Merric watched curiously as Neal opened the  
standing wardrobe and pulled out the Sword of Abscador.  
  
"What's that?" Kel frowned.  
  
"What I came here for," he shrugged. "Let's go see if we can find Fane and the  
others."  
  
"I thought we decided we were stranded?" Merric asked.  
  
"We'll never know unless we go look for them," Neal explained as he strapped the  
Sword of Abscador opposite of his everyday sword. "Let's go eat and then go see  
if we can find them."  
  
They followed Neal's suggestion and trooped downstairs, finding that they served  
meals differently in the Copper Isles than in Tortall. The table had been set out with  
a myriad of different things to eat, mostly things native to the Copper Isles. They  
hadn't really expect to see any Tortallan food, but after days of eating food stolen by  
pirates, they would have appreciated some of their own native land's food. Regardless,  
all three of them sat down and ate breakfast, careful not to speak to each other. None  
of them knew much Gallan, definitely not enough to converse in it, and everyone   
recognized Tortallan. They pretended they were tired and grumpy and didn't want to  
be bothered.  
  
As soon as they finished, they escaped the inn and walked along the edge of the cliff  
marking the end of Emerald Edge. Down below they saw nothing but the blue waves  
laping either the walls of the cliff or the sands of the tiny beach, but no sign of the ship  
that had dropped them off.  
  
"Didn't they say something about going into a cove?" Kel said finally. "A cove   
somewhere down that way or that way?" she pointed in the directions she mentioned.  
  
"You know, I do believe you're right," Neal agreed. "One of us should go down to the  
beach and see if we can see the cove from there, one of us should go that way," he  
pointed, "and one of us should go the other way."  
  
"I'll go down to the beach," Kel volunteered.  
  
"I'll take this way." Merric headed off in the opposite direction of Neal.  
  
"I'll take this way, then," Neal muttered and started off.   
  
***  
  
Udaan had slept lightly against the door to the chambers he sought entrance to. He  
had awakened when they opened but he was merely stepped over rather than   
acknowledged. It would have been so much easier if everyone would have just  
*listened* to him.  
  
So now he paced in front of the door, waiting for it to open again. When it did open  
again, he jam his remaining arm between the frame and the door itself and squeeze  
inside, regardless of guards waiting inside the facility. He needed to speak with the  
man inside, but nobody seemed to want to acknowledge him at all.  
  
Grumbling, Udaan wished he had never come there at all. However, it was dire that  
he spoke to the man inside. It was of utter importance about Kel. He would have  
thought that Kel's name would have at least caught the attention of the man he   
wanted to speak to, but it didn't so much as elicit a grunt, or so Udaan imagined. It  
was silly to have thought his words would have any impact on the man. About to go  
back home, Udaan turned, only to hear the door open.  
  
"Udaan?" asked a gruff voice.  
  
"'S me," Udaan confirmed.  
  
"He will see you now." The door swung open wider, granting Udaan admittance.  
  
Udaan simply nodded rather than verbally thank whoever had opened the door for  
him. He usually didn't go this far within the compound, but it was necessary now.  
  
The door had granted him access to a long, rectangular hallway, lit dimly by torches   
dancing in shadows on either side of the hall. A long, floor-width rug ran from a few  
feet away from the door to, presumably, the man at the end of the hall, unless there  
was another door and a separate chamber for him. Udaan didn't notice much else of  
the hallway, as there was little light to see by and his mind was on other things.  
  
When he reached the end of the hallway, Udaan disarmed himself and kneeled. With  
his only hand, he clasped his opposite shoulder and dropped his head, as was proper  
protocol for the man in front of him.  
  
"I understand you wish to speak with me. I told you not to come back here unless  
you had the Sword in your possession," the man intoned.  
  
"My 'pologies, sire," Udaan said gravely. "However, I've news of Kel."  
  
"Oh? It better be good," the man growled.  
  
"Kel lef' early in the morning a few weeks ago wit' Neal," Udaan confessed.  
  
"And you didn't alert me of this immediately?" the man's voice sent chills up and down  
Udaan's spine.  
  
"S-sire, back then I wasn' cert'in she was gonna stay wit' 'im," he explained quickly.  
"Plus, this trip takes a pure week to make on its own an' ain't nobody who listened t'  
me."  
  
The man refrained from rolling his eyes. "What do you mean by nobody listened to  
you?"  
  
"I mean I hadda argue wit' the guards t' get them t' lemme in," Udaan told him.   
"Ain't nobody who likes t' do that."  
  
The man nodded, a faint shadow moving in the darkness to Udaan. "I see. What  
other news do you bring me?"  
  
"Yer servant, Garvey, has died. He attempted t' tell someone, presum'bly Kel,   
'bout our mission," Udaan reported. "Tis assumed that Merric is now wit' Kel and  
Neal."  
  
"Excellent," the man nodded. "Perfectly done, if I do say so myself. Garvey was   
getting to know too much anyway." He sighed. "What else do you have to say   
about Kel?"  
  
Udaan bit his lip, then said, "She's still in love wit' Neal."  
  
He wasn't quite sure, but he could have sworn that the man in front of him   
flinched.  
  
"Very well." The voice sounded deadly. "Very well. Bring me Bardev."  
  
***  
  
Fane stood at the edge of the ship, smiling wryly as Neal, Merric, and Kel boarded  
the ship. "Did you three honestly think we would abandon you here?" she asked.  
"I told you we would be right up in the cove over there because we shouldn't be   
seen here. Those up in Emerald Edge don't quite fancy us." She followed them to  
their quarters which, miraculously, had been left untouched...for the most part.  
"Didja find what you need?"  
  
"Yes," Neal replied. He surveyed his room and flinched. The pouch he kept his  
money in was missing from his bags. "Where did my money go?"  
  
Kel poked her head out of her room. "Where did my money go, Fane?"  
  
Next came Merric. "And mine?"  
  
"Wait here for a minute," she instructed and hurried off. She came back a few   
moments later carrying three pouches. "Merric's," she tossed him his, "Kel's,"  
she handed hers over, "and Neal's." She dropped his pouch in his hand. "I  
made sure that they wouldn't be tempted to take your goods."  
  
"Well...thank you," Kel told her.   
  
"It doesn't go unappreciated," Merric added.  
  
"It was very thoughtful of you," Neal added as well.  
  
Fane gave them a big smile. "It's my pleasure to help you three out. You're sweet  
kids, and I don't know how you lot got caught up in the Master's scheme of things."  
  
The three sighed simultaneously.  
  
"I just want to get back to the mainland and get this stupid Sword off my hands,"  
Neal mumbled as he shut his door and flopped on the bed. 


	22. Homecoming

Thanks: Keita, IHL, Xelena, Stacey, Lady Wild Rose, The Inkblot Faery, Goddess of   
Reviews, FantasyWind, Keita again, veralidaine, Xelena again, Peachblossomluver,  
Lady Sandrilene  
  
Lookie! I got 206 reviews! Yay! Yay everyone! This is so awesome. This story is   
my baby now, teehee.  
  
For the sake of moving the story along, I'm not going to write while they were on the  
pirate's ship on the way back to Tortall so this chapter picks up when they have been  
on the mainland for a couple of hours.  
  
**Chapter 22: Homecoming**  
  
"I just want to stay stable for another couple of hours," Kel murmured. When their  
ship had docked, the three just sort of stumbled off while George had his men take  
their things to separate rooms. Not surprisingly, George, Mikhail, Fane, and a few  
other of the pirates knew each other and decided to catch up on old times. Merric,  
Neal, and Kel had just wandered into the nearest room with furniture and flopped  
down.  
  
"Me too," Neal muttered, his head resting on her lap.  
  
Merric had an entire length of furniture to himself and was snorting lightly.  
  
"Alanna and George won't care if we stay here for the night," Neal told her. "They  
have visitors all the time..."  
  
Kel had nearly fallen asleep though and was slumping over, her forehead almost  
touching his chest. Dimly, Neal realized that Kel would be better off in a bed rather  
than if he just sat up, swung her legs over his lap and let her use him as a pillow,   
but he felt better with the latter option.  
  
"Oh, wonderful. It's the Motley Crew."  
  
Neal opened one eye lazily and looked over at the doorway. Standing in the threshold  
was noneotherthan Thom of Pirate's Swoop himself. "Ah. Delightful as ever to see you  
too, Tommy."  
  
Thom snorted. "And you, Neal Anne."  
  
"You should really get some new material, Spawn of Evil," Neal replied. "People call  
me feminine often enough that I simply am not offended by it any longer." He   
glanced over and raised an eyebrow. "However, if your nose sticks out any farther I  
may be offended by it."  
  
Thom growled something under his breath that shouldn't have been heard by   
children's ears, let alone anyone else's.   
  
"You want to say that again, Pirate's Swoop?" Neal demanded, gently removing Kel from  
his person and getting to his feet.  
  
"Oooh, I'm scared." Thom rolled his eyes.  
  
"Why do you have to do this? Why can't you just leave me alone, you son of a bi..." he  
trailed off when he saw Alanna approach behind Thom. "Hello, Alanna."  
  
"Hey there," she answered. Raising an eyebrow, she looked up at her son and her   
former squire. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," Thom grumbled.  
  
"Sure looks like a whole lot for nothing," Alanna admitted.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Neal advised. He looked to Alanna and hoped he conveyed the  
message that he would tell her later with his eyes. However, she gave no indication that  
she received it and shrugged. She waddled--for now she was showing with her fourth  
child--in between Neal and Thom.   
  
"Now," she told them sternly, "you two need to get along. Thom, you should treat Neal  
like a brother, and Neal, you shouldn't antagonize Thom so much."  
  
The male knight's mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something, but instead he just  
narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, Alanna."  
  
"Thom?" Alanna pressed.  
  
"Yes, Mother," he replied mockingly.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go down to the infirmary and talk with Maude," Neal announced and  
took off.  
  
Merric and Kel had awaken shortly afterwards and Merric decided to spend some time  
getting to know the oldest Pirate's Swoop boy. Not long after they left, Alanna and Kel  
paired themselves up and went to the armory to discuss matters.  
  
***  
  
Carefully, Neal dug around in the drawers and cabinets of the infirmary, inspecting   
every piece of equipment and every instrument in the place. Being around this  
infirmary reminded him of his father, he realized with a somber enlightenment. As  
he paused to reminisce, someone came up behind him.  
  
"Surprise!"  
  
Neal jumped and toppled over in one fluid movement, successfully landing himself  
face-first on the floor. "Gods!" he cried, rubbing his face and getting to his knees.  
  
"Oh, Neal, I'm sorry!"  
  
The girl kneeled next to him.  
  
"I'm fine," he told her, waving her off. He sucked in a breath when he realized that  
he had banged his elbow on the counter and rubbed it gingerly. "Alianne, you really  
should watch what you're doing."  
  
Alianne ducked her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you so badly."  
  
Wincing, Neal shook his head. He had really done a number on his elbow, he realized  
as he inspected the fingers that came away bloody. With a sigh, he healed his arm  
and looked at Alianne. "Did you need me for something?"  
  
Alianne shook her head. "Nope! I just wanted to talk. You know, catch up on what's  
happened."  
  
"As long as it isn't girl talk," Neal replied. Alianne laughed. "If you want some girl   
talk, I'd recommend talking to Kel. While she's no 'lady,' she's still a girl."  
  
"I think I just want to talk to Neal." With the practice of someone had done this  
every day of her life, Alianne hopped up onto the examination table. "Is that okay  
with you?"  
  
Neal shrugged and busied himself with placing everything he had rifled through   
back in its original position.  
  
"Did I ever tell you that you have really pretty eyes?" Alianne asked after an  
expanse of silence.  
  
Neal flinched and slowly turned to face her. "What?"  
  
Alianne blushed. "I said...you have really pretty eyes..."  
  
For some reason, Neal couldn't make his mouth work. His brain was yelling at him   
to tell Alianne something but...it just wouldn't come out, not that he even *knew*   
what his brain wanted him to say.  
  
"Uh...thanks..." Neal finally spoke.  
  
Alianne rocked back and forth on the examination table and looked at the floor.   
"Do you have any exciting knightly stories?"  
  
Everything that happened the past few months flashed through Neal's memory. He  
raised an eyebrow, looked at Alianne, and shrugged. "Not that I can recall."  
  
Disappointed, her face fell. "Oh. Well, what have you been doing?"  
  
Neal's hand danced over the hilt of the Sword of Abscador and again he shrugged.  
"Not much."  
  
"What's that?" Alianne persisted, staring at the jewel-encrusted pommel of the   
Sword. "It looks really nice...did you get it from the big armory up in Corus?"  
  
"Actually, no," Neal admitted. "I got it from a...an inheritance."  
  
Alianne nodded, eyes wide in admiration but also twinged with a little sorrow. "From  
your father? I wish I could have gone, Ma said you said I could have gone if I could  
but I just couldn't..."  
  
"It's all right. Father didn't really know you anyway," Neal assured her. "And that   
came out a lot more callous than I meant it."  
  
Alianne laughed. "I know."  
  
Neal allowed himself a chuckle, even though he felt ill at ease with Alianne, especially  
since the comment about his eyes.  
  
"You have a really nice laugh."  
  
*That's it,* Neal thought decisively. *I think she's trying to flirt with me, and that's   
particularly creepy.* He glanced at the door. "I think I hear your mother calling for  
me," he said quickly. "I'll go see what she wants."  
  
He dashed out of the door, leaving Alianne sitting on the examination table.   
  
"Alianne! Neal!" Alanna called. "Supper!"  
  
"I guess he really *did* hear her," Alianne muttered. "Coming, Ma!"  
  
***  
  
Neal slipped in next to Kel, squeezing her hand under the table and offering her one  
of his genuine smiles. She returned it, both the squeeze and the smile, and winced  
when she noticed Neal's gaze turning to Thom. The King's Champion's son sat one  
chair down from Neal, which was promptly filled by Alianne. It was slight, but Kel  
felt a tremor run through Neal.  
  
"What's wrong?" she whispered to him as the servants brought them their food. She  
offered a smile to the one who brought hers.  
  
"Nothing, love," he promised. He nodded a thank you to the servant that offered   
his meal and began to eat with the rest of the males.  
  
Unconvinced, Kel turned to her meal and began to eat. She wondered absently if   
something had happened with Alianne and decided it must have. "Eat your   
vegetables," she told Neal.  
  
He sighed. "Yes, Mother Kel."  
  
Kel shot him an indignant look. "'Yes, Mother Kel'? You're a *healer* for the sake of  
the gods; you should *know* to eat your vegetables."  
  
"Between you and Alanna, I know very well to eat them," he informed her.  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "Then don't fight me on it."  
  
Chagrined, Neal dutifully speared a vegetable on his fork and shoved it in his mouth,  
chomping. Alanna and the rest of her family found this particularly amusing and   
fought to keep their laughter down. Kel raised an eyebrow at them, noticing their  
lack of food consumption. Paired with Neal's melancholy, overdramatic expression,  
Alanna had to allow her laughter to bubble up.  
  
George followed her next, and this signalled to his children that they could laugh as  
well. Flushing, Kel suddenly found her food rather interesting, especially the piece of  
meat sitting at the top of the plate. Neal allowed himself a smile and whispered to  
Kel, "They're always like this. They just think we're amusing."  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "Right."  
  
They all enjoyed their supper for a while longer, conversing and sharing stories about  
their travels and what had gone on during the Midwinter they had missed.   
  
They heard stones crumbling moments before the castle seemed to shudder.  
  
The knights jumped up, knocking their seats backward. A split-second afterwards,   
George and the rest of the family were on their feet.  
  
"Neal!" Merric yelled. The brunette knight looked at him. "Your sword!"  
  
Neal looked down at the Sword of Abscador and realized it was glowing with a soft   
phosphorescence and vibrated in its sheath. He ran outside, looking up, and saw a   
shower of fire hanging in mid-air. Then he noticed that if he concentrated hard   
enough, a slight sheen the color of the glow from the Sword was just above the   
castle.  
  
*It's enchanted,* Neal realized, awestruck. *The Sword is protecting itself...*  
  
Kel, Merric, Alanna, George, Alianne, Thom, and the rest of the household had  
gathered around the edges of the shield that had formed over the castle at   
barony Pirate's Swoop. Neal's two closest friends stared at him and the sword  
strapped to his waist.  
  
"What's going on?" Alanna muttered, eyes fixed to the sky.  
  
Suddenly the attacks halted, and the barrier lowered itself.  
  
A rock came crashing through the foliage and stopped at Neal's feet. Tied crudely to  
it with a string was a piece of parchment with the words, "Ten days" scribbled on it.  
Neal shivered and felt gooseflesh rise on his skin as he realized what the note implied.  
  
He had ten days to get the Sword of Abscador to Joren.  
  
***  
  
"We have to leave."  
  
"Why?" Kel asked, bewildered.   
  
Like a madman, Neal was packing up their things. "Never mind. Go tell Merric that  
we're leaving now."  
  
Folding her arms across her chest, Kel glared. "Not until you tell me why."  
  
"I have to get back to Corus within ten days."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Mithros, woman! Can't you just accept that I have to get back to Corus as soon as  
possible?!"  
  
Justice, the puppy Kel had been forced to leave in Pirate's Swoop while they went to  
the Copper Isles, crept between Kel and the doorframe, trotting up to Neal and   
licking him furiously.  
  
"Justice, no." He swatted at the dog. "Stop." It was almost a blessing when Mace, the  
cat Neal had rescued from the inn so many monthts ago, strutted in to find Justice. He  
hissed, Justice barked, and they both ran out of the room. "Please, Kel. Just tell Merric,  
will you?"  
  
Kel sighed. "Fine. I will. But you had better explain when we get to Corus why we're  
leaving like this."  
  
"Ten days," Neal muttered. He was already planning the trail in his head. If he pushed  
it, he could make it to Corus in eight days. However, by the time they got halfway   
through, not only would the horses be tired, so would Kel, Merric, Justice, Mace, and   
himself.   
  
He would just have to take an extra day to slow the pace down a little.  
  
"Shit," he muttered some more. He felt helpless. How had he lost track of the days?  
He could have sworn it was...ten days until the deadline. He just hadn't realized it. He  
and the others had been so tired after their expedition with the pirates and the ship  
and Emerald Edge that he had just totally forgotten about it.  
  
Merric came in a few moments later, trailing Kel. She kneeled beside Neal and helped  
him pack as Merric entertained Mace and Justice.  
  
"All right!" Neal announced as the last thing was packed. "Let's go."  
  
They grabbed their things and nearly ran to the stables. Alanna followed them out,  
frowning. "What's the rush?"  
  
"I have to get to Corus in ten days," Neal explained hurriedly. "Don't have time to say  
anything else. Thanks for your hospitality and don't forget to come visit." Hurriedly,  
he saddled his horse. "Come on, you two!" he shouted as he led his horse out into the  
yard and mounted it. "You two are so slow!"  
  
"We're tired, Slave Driver Neal!" Merric called back. A few moments later, Kel and   
Merric joined him in the yard. "We're tired and stressed. Why do we have to go   
right *now*?"  
  
"Because," he said simply, and led them towards Corus.  
  
***  
  
"Tired..." Kel trailed off, trotting her horse next to Merric's. Her eyelids felt heavy,  
her limbs felt leaden, and she was growing into a more irritable mood as the days  
progressed. This had been the fourth day on the road of Neal pushing them and   
making them ride longer than they normally would. The horses were beginning to  
tire out.  
  
"Exhausted," Merric corrected. He didn't feel much better than Kel, if he felt   
worse. "Aren't older people supposed to tire out faster?"  
  
"Like Neal? He's only twenty-five," Kel replied defensively. "However, I think I  
may end his life at that."  
  
"Come on!" Neal shouted, already yards ahead of them. "Get moving, you two!"  
  
"My legs are numb!" Merric shouted back. "I can't feel my horse underneath me!"  
  
"And you call yourself a knight?" Neal shot back. "And what about you, love?"  
  
"Oh, you hypocrite! You call me 'love' and yet you make us ride as if the Black  
God was on our heels!" Kel griped. "And you don't even tell us *why*!"  
  
"The Black God may very well be," Neal grumbled. Snow began to drift lazily  
down around them, serving only to make Neal more impatient. "Come on,  
we're still four or five days away from Corus."  
  
He turned his horse back around, this time advancing at a slower pace. He  
knew that the horses and his companions were tired--Kel was lagging though  
she tried not to show it and held Justice in her lap, and Merric was glaring   
daggers at Neal with Mace in his lap.  
  
They reached an inn shortly after nightfall, only to find that there was only a  
one room vacancy.  
  
"Well," said Neal. "G'night." He flopped onto the bed.  
  
"Hey!" Kel cried, pouncing on the bed after him. She straddled his waist.   
"What makes you think you can share the bed with me?"  
  
Neal blinked innocently up at her. "Because you love me?"  
  
"Don't remind me." She rolled off of him and sent an apologetic look at Merric.  
"Sorry. I would say you could share the bed, too, but you might not like that."  
  
"I think I'll sleep over here," Merric agreed, grabbing a couple of blankets out   
of the closet and situated himself by the fire. "At least I'll be warm this way."  
  
Neal refrained from adding that he had other ways to be warm.  
  
***  
  
The next few days passed slowly with the first of February hanging above Neal's  
head like a guillotine. The deadline was the last day of January, and when he  
had checked the calendar at the last inn they had slept at, it was the day before  
the last day.  
  
"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered like a mantra. Darkness descended, and the snow  
fell heavier than before. What would normally take a day was taking three.  
  
They slept in the shelter of a weeping willow, the horses fastened to the trunk.  
Neal slept fitfully when he slept at all. The Sword of Abscador thrummed at his  
waist, compelling him to move. "Go," the wind whispered through the vines that  
surrounded them. "Go. Protect them..."  
  
The moment the sun rose over the horizon, Neal leapt up and changed his   
clothes, waking Kel and Merric up as he did so. "Come on, you two. We're almost  
to Corus. We can make it today, I promise!"  
  
They hurried because he hurried.  
  
The ride through the knee-deep snow took a while; longer than Neal had   
anticipated. When they finally reached Corus, Neal sighed. He glanced up at the   
sky and realized they only had an hour or so of daylight left.  
  
"You two, I'm going ahead!" Neal called over his shoulder as he pushed his horse  
forward.  
  
Trees passed in a frosty white and brown blur and the ground seemed to disappear  
beneath them. The horse couldn't handle that pace in the cold so much and slowed,  
making Neal arrive in forty-five minutes. Now he needed to find that small little   
restaurant in the snow, cold, with a tired horse.  
  
"Gods," he groaned. He looked around, searching for familiar landmarks. "Where...  
where is it...?"  
  
Suddenly, he spotted a small shop he had made sure to notice as he wandered   
aimlessly that fateful day so long ago. "Supper's in less than an hour," he muttered.  
He led his horse towards the shop and navigated his way slowly, agonizingly through  
the deep, cold, icy powder covering the ground.   
  
He couldn't figure out if it was just his imagination or what, but he swore he could  
feel his life slipping away through the golden bracelet around his wrist.   
  
"Where?! Where is it, dammit?!" he shouted. People turned and stared at him for a  
moment before hurrying on. "Argh!"  
  
Frustration set in. He took a deep breath, the icy air stinging his lungs and puffing  
out in a white cloud. "All right, Neal. Think."  
  
He opened his eyes and saw another landmark.  
  
Less than a half-hour to go now.  
  
"Shit," he cursed. He could smell the inns and restaurants preparing their suppers for  
their customers. Frantically, he searched for another landmark and found it.  
  
Twenty minutes.  
  
He wasted another five minutes searching for another landmark.  
  
He rounded the corner and spotted the small, out of the way restaurant and literally  
sprinted up to it with five minutes left.  
  
He threw open the door. 


	23. Die Another Day

Thanks: Stacey, Lady Sandrilene, veralidaine, Lucinia of Masbolle, The Inkblot Faery,   
clarylissa, Keita, Lady Mage Dragoness, Lady Wild Rose, Xelena, Mizuki, A Strand of  
Golden Chocolate, Chibi Angel  
  
Wow, you guys. Look at all the reviewers! Keep it up! I love it. It makes me want  
to write! Also, don't forget to check out the new chapter of Love Stinks. I've decided  
to allow voting for pairings over there, so don't forget to cast your vote if you think a  
certain pairing suits that fic! (/end blatant self-promotion)  
  
As a reminder, things in -- -- are memories.  
  
**Chapter 23: Die Another Day**  
  
He threw open the door.  
  
Panting, chest heaving, Neal scanned the restaurant, desperately seeking the blond  
man whom the Sword at his side was meant for. His bones felt weak, almost like  
jelly, and he felt like he would collapse any moment. The seconds ticked by faster  
than normal, and the restaurant was *crowded*. Every blond head could have   
belonged to Joren...  
  
Finally, his emerald gaze landed on a shock of light hair and piercing ice blue eyes.  
"Joren," he whispered and blundered through the crowded tables and chairs. He  
almost fell over a vacant chair on his way to the table Joren waited at. With three  
minutes left, Neal fell into the chair across from the Master and slammed the  
scabbarded Sword of Abscador on the table. "There."  
  
A cruel smile turned up the corners of Joren's mouth as a velvet-gloved hand   
reached for the jewel-pommeled Sword. "Very well."  
  
Neal rested his arm with the bracelet on it on the table's surface, watching Joren  
curiously. The blond man studied the Sword for a moment then stood, attaching  
it around his waist. With that, he started off towards the door.  
  
"Hey, bastard."  
  
Joren stopped and tilted his head forward and to the side. "Pardon?"  
  
Neal's chair scraped on the floor behind him as he rose. He grabbed Joren's elbow  
and said softly into his ear, "Well? Will you let me go?"  
  
"Queenscove, I believe you have your identities confused. You have your grip on  
*me*, not the other way around."  
  
Neal jostled Joren's arm. "Do you think I'm playing around, Stone Mountain? I'm   
not talking about the physical hold. I'm talking about the fucking bracelet you have   
on me. I did what you asked me to--now take it off!"  
  
A smirk curled Joren's mouth again. "No. If I take it off of you, you'll go running to  
Jonathan. Can't have that, can we?"  
  
"Why doesn't Kel have one?" he demanded, aware of the patrons of the restaurant  
now watching them with intent curiosity.  
  
Joren ripped his elbow away from Neal's hold and brushed his shirt off. Without  
answering, he left.  
  
"Dammitall," Neal muttered and made his way through the sea of tables out to the  
front of the restaurant. Joren had already disappeared.  
  
***  
  
Merric, Kel, Udaan, Owen, Justice, and Mace all waited in the stables for Neal to  
return. "I wonder where he went?" Kel asked.  
  
Merric shrugged. "I don't have a clue. I feel kind of sorry for him though. For *Neal*  
to be so secretive, he must have really had something big on his mind."  
  
The others nodded. Udaan had returned from his excursion only two days before the  
three knights did. He squatted and scratched Justice behind the ears. Her tail thumped  
appreciatively but she scuttled closer to Kel for body heat.  
  
Suddenly, the knight in question appeared in the fields. He didn't look happy, either,   
they noted as he neared the stables. When he reached the stables, he didn't even   
speak to his friends, simply took care of his horse and stormed into the palace.   
Worried, the others trailed him, Kel in the lead.  
  
"Neal?" Kel asked, concern coloring her voice.  
  
He stopped and turned to face her. Frowning, she raised an eyebrow in question.  
"Come here," he said. Without wondering why, Kel obeyed and Neal gathered her in   
his arms. "Have I told you I love you lately?"  
  
"Only a million times," she replied. "What's wrong?"  
  
He wasn't sure whether he should tell her or not and looked at his bracelet. Although   
he hated to admit it, Joren had a tight grip on him and his life. He wouldn't risk his life  
with Kel after this horrible mess ended by saying he went to see Joren. Neal sighed   
and buried his face in his love's shoulder. "Nothing. Everything. I don't know."  
  
"Poor baby," she murmured soothingly, stroking his hair. "I'm here for you."  
  
For a few moments, Neal lifted his head and kissed her, then noticed Owen, Merric, and   
Udaan standing a little farther back and looking around, embarrassed at their friends'   
display of affection. "Hey Owen," he called, taking Kel's hand instead of remaining in  
her embrace. She gave it an encouraging squeeze. "How's it feel to be a knight   
finally?"  
  
Owen grinned. "Jolly great, I'll tell you!"  
  
"Just wait until you have to serve border patrol," Neal replied. All four of the knights  
laughed, and as they did, they formed a loose little circle. Udaan trailed behind Justice  
and Mace, feeling awkward.  
  
Suddenly, Merric tilted his head to the side. "Neal, where did your other sword go?"  
  
"I, ah, had to give it back to the person I got it for," he said evasively, hoping that  
Merric would let it drop. Fortunately, he did. However, Owen recovered it.  
  
"Sword?" the freshly knighted boy asked.  
  
"We had to go and get a sword for somebody I knew--know," Neal explained. *Mithros,  
let the boy drop it.*  
  
Owen shrugged. "All right. Well, you lot must be tired, so I'll leave you to it. See you  
around."  
  
With that said, Owen wandered off. Merric stretched, nodding to the remaining four,  
excused himself, picked up Mace, and walked off to his quarters, leaving Udaan, Neal,  
and Kel alone. "Well," Neal said. "I think Kel and I will be going n--"  
  
"Kel, kin I speak wit' ye alone fer a minute?" Udaan broke in, eyes intently on the  
lady knight.  
  
For a moment, Kel looked at Neal, then nodded and followed Udaan a little further down  
the hall. "Kel," Udaan said quietly. "What happened?"  
  
She knew what he meant. "I love him, Udaan. I...normally, I wouldn't believe in this  
sort of thing, but...I think he's my soulmate."  
  
Udaan let out a breath, watching it turn white in the frigid winter air. "Ye know, the   
Master ain't gonna take kindly t' this."  
  
"I don't care," she whispered. "Let him come. Neal and I will face him together."  
  
Clucking his tongue, Udaan shook his head. "Awright. Off wit' ye. Go t' yer man."  
  
Kel smiled. "Take care, Udaan," and trotted back over to Neal, where they promptly  
went to his quarters and had her things moved to his.  
  
***  
  
Merric lied on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with Mace purring on his lap. A million  
thoughts raced through his head, mostly about Abscador things and Jeraldine, who he  
hadn't seen for months. *She probably found another lover by now,* he thought   
bitterly. *She probably married the other lover too. Why do bad things always happen  
to me? Granted, not as bad as Neal or Kel's problems...*  
  
Then, his thought train jumped the tracks. *Wait a second. The Master got to Neal...  
and...sent him to get a sword. Didn't Garvey say something about a Sword of Abscador?  
I think he did...*  
  
--Garvey and Merric sat under their tent, eating their supper. Peculiarly, Garvey was  
muttering to himself about something.  
  
"Garvey?" Merric questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"  
  
The man from Runnerspring shook his head. "No."  
  
Merric shrugged. "If you say so." He went back to picking at his supper. "So, you   
were saying something about a virgin princess or something earlier?"  
  
Slowly, Garvey pushed through some of his food and finally nodded. "Yes, I did say  
that. The Aescili--the ascension to godhood--requires a blood sacrifice of a princess.  
But the catch is, the princess has to be sacrificed using the Sword of Abscador..."--  
  
Merric bolted up, scaring Mace into extending his claw to hold onto his owner's shirt.  
The knight let out a shaky breath, brushing his cat off of his chest, and swung his feet  
over onto the ground. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands  
and groaned. "I need more information," he muttered. "More information...where  
can I get it though?"  
  
He rose and began to pace around his quarters, Mace watching him from his perch on  
Merric's bed. As the cat began to wash himself, Merric chewed on his lip and thought  
aloud. "Maybe I can go to Myles? Maybe he knows something from sending out his  
spies..." he wondered. "No. The Master's very careful about that sort of thing. If he  
doesn't want any information leaked out, it won't become anything more than a thought  
in his head." He paced some more. "Let's see...who else...maybe there's something in  
the library about Abscador?"  
  
Decisively, Merric pulled on his boots and stalked off to the library, obviously deep in  
thought. Nobody bothered him on his way there, fortunately, and he walked into the  
library. A brief, unconnected thought flittered through his head. *The aisle I need to  
look in is the same aisle I found Neal and Kel making out in.* He approached the row,  
thinking of simpler times, and searched the rows. "Abscador...Abscador..." he  
murmured. Suddenly, his finger landed on a book. "'The Legend of Abscador,'" he  
read. "Perfect!"  
  
He yanked the book from the shelf and hurried over to one of the more comfortable  
chairs, settling quickly and opening the thin volume. It read:  
  
"The legend of Abscador is a tale handed down from generation to generation,   
originating in the fief of Stone Mountain. It was said that long ago, back centuries   
before, when the Ancient people of Tortall roamed the territory, that among the gods   
was a man born Abscador.  
  
Abscador, they said, would become as strong as his father, Mithros, and as intelligent  
as his mother. It was said that Abscador even caught the eye of the goddess of love  
frequently, and oft took advantage of that fact.  
  
When Abscador become of age, he came to walk amongst the Ancients for a month, and  
found a man he grew very fond of. To make matters more complicated, Abscador fell  
in love with the man's wife--a woman he called as beautiful as the sky and deep as the  
ocean, with twice the capacity for love.  
  
Abscador made a proposal to the man:  
  
'Young man,' he said, 'my peer. I have fallen in love with your wife, and your wife  
with me. You are my friend, my acquaintance, my companion and comrade. I fear I  
have kept an important secret from you.' He stepped back from the young man with  
the beautiful wife and removed a medallion that made him appear mortal amongst the  
Ancients. 'I am actually a god. My name is Abscador, son of Mithros.' The young   
man looked upon Abscador with shock and disbelief. Abscador replaced the medallion,  
once more appearing mortal. 'I have a proposition for you, my friend.' He paused for  
a moment and looked once at the man's wife, off playing with one of the neighboring   
children, then looked back at the man. 'I want to trade places with you.'  
  
The young man asked, 'You want to become mortal while I become a god?'  
  
'Yes,' replied Abscador. 'I will go back to the Realms of the Gods and return on the  
vernal equinox. I will bring with me a Sword, a magical Sword. While I am here, I  
will create a magical Scroll with which you can go to the palace and find a virgin   
princess and take her unnoticed. At the bottom of this Scroll I will place words for  
a ritual, and when I return with the Sword, we will sacrifice the virgin princess with  
Sword and read aloud the ritual from the Scroll. When the last drop of blood leaves  
the princess's body, you will become a god and I will be a mortal.'  
  
The young man nodded. 'I understand. I agree.'  
  
Abscador worked for three days without rest and finally produced a magical Scroll.  
It was said that the Scroll could make the young man disappear from all vision, and  
even the vision of animals, who could detect magic of any kind. The day after the  
Scroll's completion, Abscador returned to the Realms of the Gods to forge a Sword  
with enough magic to filter lives through a princess's blood.  
  
On the vernal equinox, Abscador returned to the young man, who had found   
the god a virgin princess by using the Scroll he had written.  
  
'I have found you a princess, Abscador,' the young man told him, showing him the  
unconscious woman. 'Have you brought me the Sword?'  
  
Abscador handed the young man the Sword. 'Come,' the god said. He lifted the  
princess up and said, 'Follow me.'  
  
Swiftly, Abscador led the young man down into the man's armory. With a snap of  
his fingers, the armory disappeared, becoming a catacombs. 'I have altered this  
realm,' he said. 'This realm belongs to the gods now, and one of Uusoae's fearful  
creatures is guarding the door. We will not be disturbed.'  
  
The ritual proceeded, and as the last drop of the princess's blood fell to the floor,  
the medallion around Abscador's neck fell down the ground and transformed into  
a sword, storing his immortality. The young man became a god and, before he  
ascended to the Realms of the Gods, he picked up the sword and pierced it through  
the princess's ribcage.  
  
'From this day forth,' Abscador said, 'I will not be known as Abscador, but as   
Aescili.'  
  
Legend says that the descendants of Abscador, or his mortal name Aescili,   
eventually claimed the fiefs of Stone Mountain and Olau, but that is just a legend.  
There has been no written proof that Aescili existed, nor was he a god. However,  
it is accounted by Sir Alanna of Olau and Pirate's Swoop that a creature of fierce  
magnitude does exist in an armory at Olau, and she did find a sword down there."  
  
Merric shut the book and looked up at the ceiling. "Well," he said to himself.   
"That certainly explains a lot." He brought the volume back to its proper shelf and  
retook his spot on chair. "Who else would know something..."  
  
Then he remembered that Roald had been the person to ask him to look for the  
Scroll of Abscador in the first place. *Maybe he knows something more?*   
  
Merric walked out of the library, in no particular hurry, and found Roald speaking  
with Lord Wyldon by the courtyard. Not exactly wanting to face the wrath of  
Wyldon for an interrupted conversation, Merric stayed back until he saw Wyldon  
look up at him, tap Roald on the shoulder, and point. Instead of Roald motioning  
Merric up, Roald came to him.  
  
"Merric? Do you need something?" the prince asked.  
  
"I was just wondering if you knew anything more about the Scroll of Abscador  
or the Sword of Abscador besides what they have in the library," Merric explained.  
"I've just heard a lot of people talk about it lately--you know how rumors fly around  
this place."  
  
"Well, I know what you know then." Roald shrugged. "Sorry. But I do know that,  
for certain, the ceremony or ritual will take place somewhere around one of the  
Ancient ruins. Probably around Olau."  
  
*I knew that already,* Merric thought frustratedly. "Did you hide Kalasin?"  
  
Roald shook his head. "Father and Mother don't see any reason for it. If we hid  
Kally, that would just tip off whoever this man is who has the Scroll of Abscador  
right now. All we really can do is pray he doesn't prey on Kally and pray that he  
hasn't found the Sword of Abscador yet." The prince looked sadly wistful for a  
moment, then shook his head again as if to clear his thoughts. "A lot of good  
praying would do if someone decided to sneak in, undetected, and snatch Kally  
right from under our noses." Roald kicked at the snow with a loose pebble with  
the toe of his boot. "Oh...another thing I know that I overheard Mother and   
Father talking about. Apparently, this ritual thing needs a child of some sort of   
something to store immortality in. With Abscador, it was supposedly Lady Alanna's   
sword. The medallion Abscador wore could hold that sort of power, since it did   
already. Father guesses it would probably take two people to store that much   
immortality, so he said this man who has the Scroll probably has selected Kel and   
some poor child to be the recipients of the immortality."  
  
"That makes sense," Merric murmured. *It's all coming together now.*  
  
"Well, Wyldon's starting to look a bit impatient. I'll talk to you later, Merric,"  
Roald told him and ran back to the former training master.  
  
Absorbing this information, Merric went back to his quarters to take a nap.  
  
***  
  
Neal left Kel taking a nap in their quarters to check and see if anyone had sent him   
any messages. He also collected Kel's mail and trotted back to their quarters.   
After he situated himself at the desk, he began to open his letters. The first one   
was from Seaver, the second from his cousin in the desert who made sure to stay   
clear of any topic relating to Kel or Yuki, and the third from his mother.  
  
"Mithros," he breathed. He had practically ripped the envelope open when he   
realized that his mother had sent word to him. "What could Mother want from me at   
this point in time? She just about told me to classify her as dead, even though I   
have all of those healers working on her..."  
  
"'Dear Nealan,'" he read. He groaned. "Ah, Mother, why can't you call me 'Neal'   
like everyone else does? 'It has been a while since I last heard from you. I have   
heard from your cousin Domitan that you had to leave suddenly on royal business.   
Alas, that is the fate of a knight who serves the crown, such as you and your father.  
Only your father found a more convenient role acting as chief healer. Why don't  
*you* take that position, rather than go gallivanting around the worlrd like you do?'  
Mother...just get on with it. I don't want hear your lecture about me not taking   
Father's position as chief healer. I've heard it in your other letters. 'But enough   
about that.' Oh, good. You listened. 'The reason I wrote to you was not because  
I wanted to berate you about your career decision.' I should hope not. 'The reason  
I decided to write was because I wanted to ask you to take a short leave of absence.  
I would like you to get married, Nealan, or at the very least bring young Keladry   
back to Queenscove so she can have a little time to get to know her dying mother-  
in-law.' Mother...somehow I don't think Kel would be very fond of being forced to   
get married at Queenscove. 'Allow me this last, small pleasure. Humor your  
mother.' All right, all right, I'll talk to her. 'Thank you, Nealan. All my love,   
Mother.'"  
  
Shaking his head, Neal looked over at Kel, who blinked sleepily at him from the   
bed. "Why are you way over there?" she asked of him.  
  
"I have a letter from Mother." Neal waved it in Kel's direction.  
  
"And?" she prompted, yawning and walking over to the desk.  
  
"She wants me to go back to Queenscove for a little while," he said. *I won't tell  
her about the getting married part until later,* he decided. "Also, she wants to   
get to know you a little bit. In one of her letters before she told me that she  
likes you more than she liked Yuki."  
  
"Your mother met Yuki?" Kel sounded surprised.  
  
"Well, not exactly *met*. More like...heard a lot about her in my letters and they  
even traded letters a few times. Father used to say a lot about Yuki in his letters,  
too," he explained. "So, she wants you and me to go back to Queenscove and  
maybe spend the spring there and a little bit of summer. Personally, I say it's a  
welcome vacation from Invisible-Things-That-Bite-You-In-the-Ass, Tortall. Even  
if we're going to Hell, Tortall to escape it."  
  
Kel stiffled a laugh. "Well, I suppose we'll have to ask King Jonathan if he needs  
us for anything first, though I doubt he'd begrudge you time with your mother."  
  
"I know he won't. Remember, he came to Father's funeral too. He knows that  
Mother tried to get me to kill her," he reminded her. His mother's gaunt face asking  
him for certain death still haunted his dreams sometimes. He didn't think he would  
ever forget that voice, pleading with him. "So, will you come?"  
  
"I don't see why not," Kel agreed.  
  
"Perfect. I'll go find Jonathan and tell him not to assign us anywhere until we get  
back and we'll leave tomorrow morning."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Better than good."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her. After a few moments, Kel broke away and   
murmured, "You have to go tell Jonathan, remember?"  
  
Neal tossed the letter aside. "Jonathan can wait." 


	24. Twenty Six

Thanks: Keita, Lady Sandrilene, clarylissa, IHL, Xelena, The Rain Child, Stacey,  
Reagal Dreamer, A Strand of Golden Chocolate (is there something shorter I can  
accredit you as? Like...ASOGC or something?), The Inkblot Faery (lol your name  
reminds me of the Merry Gentry books...)  
  
*sob* There's only six chapters left of Free Falling, followed by an epilogue. I'm   
so sad! I really don't want to see Free Falling go, but if I drag it out any farther   
than thirty chapters and an epilogue, it will start to get boring. Have you guys   
also realized that since I put up that message I've released two chapters? Go  
me! That's about a chapter a month though. I released 21 on March 23, 22 on  
April 15, and 23 on May 5. Perhaps May will see more chapters?  
  
**Chapter 24: Twenty-Six**  
  
Queenscove Manor loomed ahead of them, still covered in snow like they had  
left it. "Ah, home," Neal said nostalgically. "Why, when I was a boy..."  
  
"Neal, don't." Kel tossed him a warning look. "Just...don't. You don't come off  
reminscently. You just come off as a dumb ass."  
  
"Gee, I love you too, Protector of the Small."  
  
"Don't call me that, Meathead."  
  
He pouted and continued riding as the castle grew larger in their field of vision.  
"At least Jon let us take the summer off. Logically, he shouldn't have, but I guess  
he thinks I value my time with my mother too much to be bothered with knightly  
duties."  
  
"You should," Kel reminded him. "That's what you told him."  
  
"Oh yeah." The emerald-eyed man laughed embarrassedly and promptly hung  
his head. Kel reached over and patted his shoulder.  
  
They rode on for a few more minutes in the quiet, listening to the sounds of the  
fief around them and Justice barking at birds from the saddle. Suddenly, Kel  
said, "Isn't your birthday the week after next?"  
  
After moving his lips in silent counting, Neal nodded. "Yes it is. The big twenty-  
six. And sweet Mithros I'm still unmarried."  
  
Kel arched an eyebrow at him. "I'll be twenty-one soon and I still haven't   
married."  
  
"I'm still five years older than you are," Neal replied. *Should I ask her to   
marry me right now? No, that doesn't look particularly romantic. "Hey Kel,  
want to get married to me? That's the other reason Mother called us here."  
Yeah. She'll like THAT.*  
  
"Need I remind you that you almost got married?" Kel asked.  
  
"No, I remember quite clearly, thanks. Although, I'd prefer to forget that  
period of my life," he sighed.  
  
Kel pouted playfully at him. "You'd rather forget you fell in love with me?"  
  
He laughed. "Nah, I love you and I'd never want to forget that. The part I   
want to forget is the fact that for a long time I had no idea where you were and  
what happened to you." The air tinged with sadness as he spoke. "I don't think  
I have ever been that scared for anyone or anything, myself included, before."  
  
Somewhere in her mind Kel knew she should say something back to him but she  
couldn't come up with anything. However, she did know with firm certainty that  
the gods had chosen for her to fall in love with Neal and for Neal to fall in love  
with her. There was no question in her mind that she and Neal inveritably   
belonged together.  
  
"Your Grace!"  
  
Neal looked up and saw someone on the hill just before the castle waving to   
them.   
  
"Your Grace!" the person--a man--called again.  
  
Squinting, Neal struggled to make out the face of the man who called to him.   
The voice sounded so familiar... "Ah! Vesiter!"  
  
Vesiter, his father's--no, Neal's--steward.  
  
"Your Grace!" Vesiter rode up to Neal and Kel, dismounted, and bowed. "Welcome  
back to Queenscove, your Grace."  
  
"I consider myself welcomed," Neal told Vesiter congenially. The man in front of him  
was middle-aged and had served Baird for the past seven years. Vesiter Miller stood  
taller than Neal by two inches, had brown hair graying at the temples, and the build   
of someone who physically worked hard for a living. Although Neal hadn't known  
Vesiter for very long, the young duke still liked him fairly well.  
  
"Your mother told all of us that you would come," Vesiter continued. He finally seemed  
to notice Kel a moment later. "And you must be the Protector of the Small." Vesiter  
bowed. "I cannot tell you how honored Queenscove is to have a legend amongst us."  
  
"I'm honored that you think so highly of me, but I'm a normal person. Honest," Kel  
tried to explain.  
  
"Nonsense," Vesiter assured her. He did rise though. "Come, your Grace, your   
mother awaits."  
  
"Unfortunately," Neal added.  
  
"Quite so. These past few months since Baird passed on--may the Black God rest his  
soul--have been terribly unbearable."  
  
"Mother's quite the bear, isn't she?"  
  
"Indeed she is. Quite like one awakened from hybernation and it's still winter."  
  
"Well, it *is* still winter."  
  
"True. Your arrival was certainly a blessing though, your Grace. Perhaps now your  
mother won't dismiss your healers for no reason."  
  
As they approached the castle gates, Neal could see a multi-colored bubble against  
the white snow and gray stones of the castle. The closer they got, the image of his  
mother became clearer in the multi-colored bubble. "Mother!" he shouted, urging   
his horse ahead. The beast beneath him sloughed dutifully through the snow in a   
hurry. "Mother, get back inside!"  
  
"Is that any way to greet your mother?" she demanded.  
  
"Is it any way to greet your son while you catch your death of a cold?" he retorted,  
finally reaching her.  
  
"Ludicrous," she scoffed. "I think you've gone mad. You can see as well as I can  
that your ridiculous healers have me so wrapped in a heat bubble that it may as   
well be summertime."  
  
Neal sighed. "Mother, Mother, Mother. What am I to do with you?"  
  
"Well, you can start by giving me a hug."  
  
Smiling, Neal dismounted and obeyed.  
  
"Have you asked that Kel to marry you yet?" his mother asked.  
  
"No, but I do plan on it."  
  
"Good. I want grandchildren, Nealan."  
  
Kel and Vesiter caught up then. Neal's mother, named Amaris, released her son  
and looked up at Kel. "...Good afternoon, Duchess Amaris," she said quietly under  
the old woman's studious, intimidating gaze.  
  
"Just Amaris is fine," she replied, tugging back her hair. "Oh, do get off of those  
dreadful beasts and come inside. You two must have a frightful appetite."  
  
"Food? I'm there!" Neal agreed enthusiastically.  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "All you have to say is 'food' and he'll follow you to the end   
of the world."  
  
Amaris smiled. "He hasn't changed."  
  
***  
  
Once inside and having eaten, Neal excused himself from the dining hall and set  
to seemingly wandering aimlessly about the castle grounds, coming to a halt just  
outside the Queenscove Family Mausoleum. With a quick glance around, Neal  
descended into the catacombs and into the mausoleum. Immediately, his eyes  
landed on the newest addition:  
  
Baird of Queenscove  
February 24, 386 - September 22, 462  
  
"Hello, Father," he whispered, approaching the carved stone mounted on the   
wall and tracing the letters with an unmittened hand. "Sorry I haven't had much  
time to think of you lately, but I've had somewhat of a problem..."  
  
Neal perched on a stone pedastal in the center of the mausoleum, tucking one  
leg under his knee and letting the other foot dangle off the edge. Casting a  
forlorn glance at the golden bracelet scintillating in the darkness, he groaned.  
"You remember Joren of Stone Mountain?" he asked. "Well, it seems Joren  
never really died. I don't know how, but he's alive. He's alive...and he wants  
Kel." He squeezed his mittens in his hands. "But I'm going to marry her, Father.  
I'm going to marry her and I'll...I'll protect her, even if it means my life." He  
sighed. "Joren made me go on this mad journey for this Sword of Abscador, and  
he already has this Scroll of Abscador. I don't have any idea what he wants to  
do...I feel like I've fallen into a river with a strong current and the waterfall is right  
ahead of me and all I can do is wait until I reach the edge. And...and I don't know  
what the edge is, Father. I don't want to go over this edge, but at the same time...  
falling Mithros knows how many feet into the waters below would be welcome at this  
point. I don't know how much peace Kel and I have left, before we have to pick up  
everything and get going again."  
  
Suddenly, Neal's vision blurred. "I wish you were still here." His eyes burned as   
looked up to the ceiling, hoping gravity would push back the tears. "I miss you.   
I think I can honestly say I had no idea I would miss you this much." Neal slammed  
his mittens down on the pedastal and buried his face in his hands. "I just wish I knew  
what killed you!" he sobbed. "If it was Joren...so help me Goddess...I will hunt him  
down and rip his entrails out, braid them, and use them to hang his lackeys."  
  
Neal gathered both of his legs underneath him, resting his elbows on his knees, and  
allowed himself a moment of weakness. Once he had his tears under control, he   
dragged his sleeve across his blood-shot eyes and laughed bitterly. "Well, I didn't  
mean to break down like this but I only ever felt comfortable doing it in front of you."  
  
Something skittered across the stone floor, drawing Neal's attention. He looked up  
and over his shoulder, making out the faint outline of someone standing in the   
threshold.  
  
"Kel..." he breathed.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I...I didn't mean to interrupt..."  
  
As she turned to leave, Neal leaped from the pedastal and gathered her in a hug  
from behind. "You didn't interrupt."  
  
"Bullshit. Of course I did. Gods, why do you have to be so accomodating?" she   
asked him.  
  
"Why are you so upset?" he countered softly.  
  
"I'm not upset." She jerked out of his hold. "I'll just come back a little later, all   
right?"  
  
"You are too upset. Normally you don't jerk out of my arms like that." He crossed  
his arms and looked at her critically. "A...are you crying?"  
  
"No!" she said sharply.  
  
"Kel!" his answer was right on the heels of hers.  
  
"*Joren*, Neal?!" Kel cried, her voice echoing down the hallway. "Joren!"  
  
He took a step backwards. "You heard that?" he whispered.  
  
"Yes! I did!" She turned away from him and added, "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I can't..."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Helplessly, Neal raised the wrist with the bracelet on it up and showed it to her. "I   
can't because of this. I...can't even tell you how I got it or where or when or why.  
I can't take it off, either."  
  
"Does Merric know too?" Kel asked. "Does Merric know that Joren's alive?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied as he shook his head. "It's not like I can ask."  
  
"Can you really not break down comfortably in front of me? Even though I've been  
your best friend for ten years and your lover for a few months?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"Is that what this is about?" he murmured, looking her in the eyes. She gave a slight  
nod and waited for the answer. "Yes. The only person I've ever truly broken down  
in front of is my father. I never have gone screaming, tears streaming down my face,  
shaking, collapsing...all of that in front of anyone but my father. I've never done it in  
front of my mother, or any of my other relatives...Dom...you...my friends at Corus...  
Yuki..."  
  
Suddenly, Kel grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth onto hers. When she  
let go, Neal felt dizzy. "I love you," she whispered. "More than anything."  
  
"I love you too," he replied, somewhat confused by her behavior.   
  
Kel bent and picked up whatever had clattered on the floor before, smiled at him, and  
took off again. Still puzzled, Neal sat back down on the pedastal and looked at his   
father's name. "I'm still wondering what her problem is."  
  
***  
  
Neal spent the next day in conference with Vesiter and various members of the  
Queenscove fief. Kel mostly kept to herself, though Amaris sought her out on various  
occasions to talk with her. On their third day in Queenscove, Amaris brought up the  
fact that Neal's birthday was fast approaching to Kel, and together they conspired to  
throw a surprise party for his twenty-sixth birthday.  
  
On the fourth day in Queenscove, Neal and Vesiter announced that Lord Chessar from  
Midnight Run, the next fief over, needed some help quelling the rebellion rising there.  
Considering Lord Chessar was nine years old, Neal and Vesiter felt obliged to go.  
  
That left Kel and Amaris enough time to organize the surprise party, knowing that   
Neal wouldn't return until his birthday, or so he said.  
  
Neal and Vesiter arrived in Midnight Run shortly after noon to find that most of the  
villagers stood at the entrance of their town weilding pitchforks and torches like   
they knew how to use them. Most of them wore angry faces--even the children who  
crowded in between the legs of the adults. Warily, Neal and his steward exchanged  
glances and began to try and push their way through.  
  
However, one of the farmers jabbed the pitchfork at Vesiter's horse, causing the   
beast to nearly throw his rider off.  
  
Suddenly, several buckets of water were flung over the mob, causing them to shout  
and disperse for a few moments, allowing Vesiter and Neal to ride through the streets  
and up to the castle. "I don't know who did that," Neal commented, "but remind me to  
find out and thank them."  
  
"Will do, your Grace," Vesiter promised as they passed over the drawbridge and went  
past the curtain wall. Quickly, the drawbridge snapped up behind them and archers at  
the gatehouse threatened with the tips of their arrows portruding through the arrow  
loops. From atop of the inner curtain wall, someone poked their head through one of  
the crenels of the wall and looked down at Vesiter and Neal.  
  
"Who goes there?" he shouted.  
  
Vesiter announced them. "Sir Duke Nealan of Queenscove, sir! And I am his   
steward, Vesiter Miller. Your lord, Lord Chessar, summoned us."  
  
The figure nodded and waved to someone on the other side of the inner curtain wall,  
presumably those who operated the portcullis firmly sitting in the ground in front of   
them. Within moments, the portcullis began to rise, allowing them entrance into the  
bailey. Vesiter and Neal ducked in quickly, finding themselves approached by a pair  
of humble hostlers who offered to take their horses and stable them for the two visiters.  
  
"Of course," Neal told them, handing over the reins of his horse. His steward followed  
suit. Neal looked around for a moment, surveying the castle. It didn't seem as large   
as many of the castles he had stayed in or visited, but it seemed large enough to hold  
the villagers should someone attempt a seige. Someone descending the stairs to his  
left caught his attention. "Hello," he greeted the man.  
  
"Good afternoon," replied the man. He was the same man who had asked for their  
identifications. "Good afternoon, your Grace," he corrected himself, giving a short  
bow. "And to you too, Master Vesiter."  
  
Vesiter and Neal both nodded, but it was Vesiter who spoke again. "What may we call  
you?"  
  
"Grevans," he answered.  
  
"Master Grevans then," Neal decided. "Where might we find Lord Chessar?"  
  
"I'll fetch him." Grevans fled to the keep and returned a few moments later with a   
young man in tow. The boy didn't even look nine years of age--he was short, about  
waist-high on Grevans, who was no giant, and had blond hair only spoken of in tales  
about princesses who married their true loves and ruled a kingdom of peace. In fact,  
it was so blond it looked almost white, and he had deep, sapphire eyes shaded by his  
brow. He looked a little round in the belly and had fair skin only slightly bronzed by  
the sun. Today, the young lord wore a sapphire-tinged heat spell wrapped tightly   
around him. When Grevans finally brought the boy to them, he said, "Your Grace,  
Master Vesiter, allow me to present Lord Chessar of Midnight Run."  
  
"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Chessar. I'm Duke Nealan, but you can call me Neal.  
This is Vesiter, my steward," Neal introduced himself and Vesiter. The little boy nodded,  
his heat spell shifting as he did. "May we move this meeting inside?"  
  
Lord Chessar nodded again, tugged on Grevans's sleeve, and led the three of them   
inside and into a conference chamber.   
  
"Doesn't talk much, does he?" Neal whispered to Vesiter.  
  
"It doesn't appear so," Vesiter agreed. "I wonder why?"  
  
"I wonder what happened to his parents," Neal countered.  
  
"Thank you for coming, Neal, Vesiter," Lord Chessar said, once they had been seated in  
the conference chamber. "I had Grevans write to you and ask for your...your..."  
  
"Assistance," Grevans suggested.  
  
Chessar nodded. "Assistance in keeping order in Midnight Run. I app...apprec..."  
  
"Appreciate," Grevans murmured.  
  
"Appreciate your coming here." His cheeks flushed, knowing that he had just   
stumbled embarrassingly over his appreciation speech.  
  
Neal nodded. "You're very welcome. I understand your people are trying to rebel?"  
  
Chessar looked at Grevans, then up at Neal, and nodded. "Yes, that's what Grevans  
wrote I think. Will you help us?"  
  
"Of course," Neal waved it off. "Now, let's decide what to do..."   
  
***  
  
In the end, Neal ended up promising the people of Midnight Run that Queenscove  
would sponsor sending Chessar to Corus the next year and named Grevans the  
steward of the fief. Grevans would consult Vesiter or Neal on matters concerning   
the fief and, once deciding upon a solution, would send a letter to Chessar in Corus,  
where the young noble had the ability to accept (or reject, but not without the consent  
of one of the other Tortallan nobles at court) whatever had been previously decided.  
  
That seemed to calm most of the villagers of Midnight Run. Those who found   
themselves dissatisfied had the option of leaving the fief and migrating to Queenscove,  
but other than that, they were to stay in Midnight Run. After all, they owed their   
allegiance to the small lord.  
  
Lord Chessar thanked them heartily as they left, called out a "Happy Birthday!" to   
Neal, and ducked back inside the castle.  
  
Neal and Vesiter arrived in Queenscove the morning of Neal's birthday.  
  
Not surprisingly, Kel met them at the castle gate, but she told them to let the hostlers  
take their horses. She allowed Vesiter into the building but made Neal stay out in the  
snow with her.  
  
"What gives, Kel? Why won't you let me inside?" he questioned.  
  
She kissed him and said, "You'll see."  
  
A few minutes later, Justice came out of the keep with a big pink bow tied around her  
neck. She jumped on Neal's leg and begged for a thorough ear-scratching, then   
finally Kel allowed him to go inside.  
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" chorused everyone who lived on the castle grounds, including   
his mother, Kel, and Vesiter.  
  
Neal grinned. "Thanks, everyone."  
  
Gifts sat on a table in the ballroom, colorfully wrapped in decorated paper, and food  
had been arranged on a table pushed up against a wall. Tables dotted hall of the   
ballroom floor, and a small group of instrument players found themselves situated on  
a platform. The other half of the ballroom floor had been left clear, open for anyone  
who wanted to dance, including the servants.  
  
But first, Neal opened his gifts.  
  
The first he chose to open was from Roald in Corus. He had sent Neal a leather-  
bound, ratty little book entitled, "Leadership: The Who, What, When, Where, How."  
Neal groaned and set it aside, wondering if it was the prince's idea of a joke. The  
next one he opened up was from Alanna. It was an empty jar with a blue ribbon  
tied around the neck. Confused, Neal read the note attached to the lid. "'Neal--  
this jar is spelled. Place a little bit of Gift fire in here and you can contact anyone  
with the Gift instantly, no matter where you are.' Well, that's helpful."  
  
The gifts went on, mostly from his relatives and friends at Corus. However, he   
opened his mother's gift halfway, turned beet red, and hurriedly tried to burry it   
under the scraps of paper. "Mother!" he managed to choke out.  
  
Amaris just smiled. "What?"  
  
Curious, Kel peeked under the scraps of paper and at the halfway opened gift. She,  
too, turned red and looked at Amaris, aghast.  
  
"I told you I want grandchildren," was all Amaris had to say. 


	25. Summer Lovin'

Thanks: Fanty, Lady Mage Dragoness, Stacey, Lady Wild Rose, Lady Sandrilene,  
IHL, Drakon  
  
Mommy! I'm scared! This is the last chapter before the Beginning of the End  
(to be terribly cliche)! Man, my comma key is sticking. Oh, and, do forgive  
the typos. I finished typing most of this at midnight last night...  
  
And, yes, it's named after the song in Grease. And now, a French proverb:  
  
L'amour faite passer les temps. Les temps faite passer l'amour. (Love makes  
time pass. Time makes love pass.)  
  
~Update: I'm SORRY. I told you all that I finished writing most of this at  
midnight. Forgive me if my sleep-addled brain forgot that New Hope used to  
be Haven. You all don't have to jump all over me for it. *grumble mutter*  
That came off meaner than I meant it, but it irritated me to go into my inbox,  
say, "Oh! A review!", click on it, and all it is is Neal's speech copy-pasted and  
"It's Haven (or Haevan as one of you so geniusly called it), not Hope." It   
pissed me off. I've had four reviews and three out of the four pointed it out.  
So I changed it. I shouldn't have just because it pissed me off so much to see  
just that and "write more!", but I did anyway. I hope you're all happy. I've had  
a stressful day full of cleaning and shit and now this really cheesed me off. So  
stop complaining. I changed it. I was nice enough to update. You don't have to  
pick at it.~  
  
~Update 2: Um. Sorry. I didn't mean to be so mean. But I was mad. So...  
sorry. I did change it though.~  
  
**Chapter 25: Summer Lovin'**  
  
The snow had melted and temperatures had risen to a comfortable range. The  
Queenscove Manor garden flourished with vegetables, fruits, and flowers of every  
shape and size imaginable. Neal's great-grandmother had loved flowers.  
  
Every morning at dawn the village below the castle stirred to life, but   
Neal found they didn't make nearly as much noise as the palace in Corus did.  
Truth be told, Neal actually missed the noise Corus created in the mornings.  
Sometimes he rose at dawn just to hear the noises of everyday people   
working, and to hear some of the castle servants bustling about. Queenscove  
did not employ nearly as many servants as the palace had...  
  
One morning, Neal wandered through the gardens as the sun climbed higher   
in the sky, climbed up onto the inner curtain wall, and looked out over the   
fief that belonged to him. Somebody rode across the hill towards the town,  
and Neal swore that its rider had one arm. He cursed and looked around for  
the looking-glass Merric had sent him for his birthday, suddenly remembering  
he had left it with some of the castle's guards.  
  
"Neal!"  
  
He peeked through one of the crenels and down into the garden. Kel. "Yes,  
love?"  
  
"Breakfast is ready," she called up to him, smiling.  
  
Neal grinned back, studying her. She had let her hair grow out to a little past  
shoulder-length and had taken to wearing simply shirts and breeches without  
the tunics. She stood in between a yellow rose bush and a patch of yellow  
daffodils and Neal found himself falling in love with her all over again.  
  
"Neal!" she sounded impatient.  
  
"Coming," he said hastily and descended the stairs. She started to turn back  
towards the keep, but he caught her arm. "I have a question for you first,  
though, before we go inside to eat."  
  
"We're having ham, eggs, fruit, and fruit juice," she replied automatically,  
guessing that his question would be what they were going to have for breakfast.  
  
"That's not what I was going to ask," he chuckled. For a moment, he took his  
eyes off of her and dug around in belt purse. He looked back up at her as his  
fist closed around the object he sought and said, "Keladry of Mindelan, will--"  
  
"Nealan! Keladry! Come inside and eat breakfast!" Amaris shouted from the  
keep.  
  
*Dammit,* he swore mentally. *This happened when I tried to tell her that I  
loved her, too...*  
  
It was April, almost May, and Neal had been trying since the second week of  
March to ask Kel to marry him. His mother, Vesiter, the steward from Midnight  
Run, this problem or that problem always interrupted him. He was beginning to  
take it as a sign from the gods that he and Kel shouldn't marry.  
  
"Come on," he said tiredly, dropping the object in his hand back into the belt  
purse. He reached for her hand and started to head towards the keep only to  
nearly fall over backwards.  
  
"Wait," she said quietly, tugging on his hand. "You've been trying to say something  
to me ever since we got here, or close to it. Please...just come out and say it.   
The suspense is killing me."  
  
"Mother..." he started.  
  
"Please?"  
  
Kel pouted.  
  
Kel *pouted* at him.  
  
Needless to say, Neal couldn't resist the power of a pout rarely used.  
  
He quickly found the object again and looked at her seriously. "Keladry of  
Mindelan, will y--"  
  
"*NEALAN*! *BREAKFAST*!" shouted his mother again.  
  
He closed his eyes and kicked at the ground, reigning in his temper. "Keladry of  
Mindelan, will you..." he paused, waiting for the shout. When he didn't hear it, he  
continued. "Will you m--"  
  
"*NEALAN*! Don't make me go out there and drag you by your ear inside!"   
Amaris threatened.  
  
He turned, waved his arms and shouted back. "Mother! Do you *mind*?! I'm   
trying to propose to Kel!"  
  
"Oh, you still haven't done that? Hurry up then!" Amaris huffed.  
  
Neal turned back around to face Kel. "I guess...I guess I kind of ruined it, didn't  
I?"  
  
She shook her head. "Ruined what?" she whispered, smiling.  
  
That smile gave him the confidence he needed. "Kel, will you marry me?"  
  
Her smile grew wider and she nodded, throwing her arms around his neck. "Of   
course I'll marry you," she murmured. "I love you, why would I say anything else?"  
  
"Let's go inside before Mother actually comes out here and drags me by my ear,"  
Neal suggested after hugging her back.  
  
"Somehow I don't put it past your mother to do that," Kel said thoughtfully, taking  
Neal's hand in hers as they walked back to the keep.  
  
"Good, you don't underestimate her," Neal sighed. "She *has* done it before."  
  
"Poor baby."  
  
"Yes. Coddle me."  
  
***  
  
After they had finished their breakfast, they had planned to do their separate things.  
Neal had a meeting with Vesiter and Kel had made some friends among the commoners.  
A good thing, since she would become the duchess as soon as she and Neal married.  
  
A herald rode up to the castle, waving a parchment. "Message for Duke Neal and   
Lady Kel!"  
  
The gates opened and the herald was shown to Neal's conference room.  
  
"Your Grace? You have a messenger from..." the servant paused and looked at the   
herald.  
  
"Fiefs Hollyrose and Magistra," panted the herald.  
  
"A messenger from Fiefs Hollyrose and Magistra," the servant continued.  
  
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Neal said to Vesiter and the people he was meeting with.   
He slipped out of the conference room and looked at the herald. "From Hollyrose,   
you say?"  
  
The herald nodded and wordlessly held out the parchment. Neal took it and the   
servant nudged the herald. "Your Grace."  
  
Neal waved it off.  
  
'Nealan of Queenscove and Keladry of Mindelan:  
  
You are cordially invited to the nuptial ceremony celebrating the bond between  
Sir Merric of Hollyrose and Duchess Jeraldine of Magistra. Please reply as  
soon as possible. The ceremony will be held at Fief Hollyrose in the third week  
of July.  
  
Awaiting your reply,  
Lord and Lady Hollyrose  
Duke Magistra'  
  
Grinning, Neal looked up at the herald. "Stay here a minute. Tell Vesiter and   
the others in there that I had to go talk to Kel real quick."  
  
The servant nodded and obeyed as Neal took off to the town. *Where will she  
be...?*  
  
Luckily for him, he almost bowled her over as she was leaving a fabric shop.  
"Aha! Hello, my fair lady."  
  
"...Hello," Kel replied, her voice sounding slightly puzzled. "What happened?"  
  
"Check this out." Neal thrust the invitation at her.  
  
She read it quickly and said, "Wow. I knew it would only be a matter of time  
before those two decided to marry, from what you've told me and what I heard  
from Jeraldine."  
  
"So, we'll go?" Neal sounded hopeful.  
  
"Of course. We have to support Merric, after all. The three of us have gotten   
to be so close lately," Kel told him.  
  
He kissed her. "Love you, darling."  
  
"Love you too." Kel shook her head as he ran back to the castle. "What will I  
do with him?"  
  
***  
  
The first week of July came and passed. Neal and Kel were preparing for their  
own wedding and trying to think about Merric and Jeraldine's at the same time,  
but it seemed to take a lot out of them to do both. The first day of the second  
week, Neal woke up and realized what day it was.  
  
"Kel, Kel!" he shook her, trying to wake her.  
  
Kel rolled over. "For Mithros' sake, stop shaking me, Neal!"  
  
"Love, we have to get on the road today."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Merric and Jeraldine's wedding is next week!"  
  
Kel bolted up. "Shit. You're right."  
  
"And we told them we would be there..."  
  
"And Merric sent that notice the week before last asking you to be the best  
man..."  
  
Neal dressed himself as they talked. "I'll have the servants pack our things   
and prepare us for traveling."  
  
Kel got out of bed and looked out the window. "Living with you has made me  
lazy, Queenscove. I used to get up with the dawn."  
  
"Well now you have some sense in you. There's no need to wake up with the  
sun every morning."  
  
Kel shot him a dirty looked and dressed herself as well.  
  
"Reowr," Neal commented, making a noise like a disgruntled cat. "Hiss."  
  
"Shut up." She hit him on the shoulder.  
  
"Ow." He rubbed his shoulder and pouted at her, leaving the room and making  
sure to leave the door wide open.  
  
"Neal!" Kel shouted, running after him and slamming the door shut so she could  
finish getting dressed.  
  
***  
  
Their things were packed and loaded onto their horses and a pack mule when  
they went out to the stableyard. "Well, love, ready to go?" Neal asked.  
  
"Ready as ever," Kel told him confidently, mounting her horse. "Which of us   
will lead the mule?"  
  
"I will. It's already attached to my horse anyway," Neal said, mounting. "Let's  
head out, darling of mine."  
  
"You can call me 'Kel,' you know. I won't decide that I don't love you anymore  
because you don't call me pet names," Kel said as they left Queenscove, waving  
behind them. "However, if you *do* keep calling me those pet names I may   
have to strangle you."  
  
"Okay, love," he replied, purposely using the word "love."  
  
"Do you think I won't make good on my threat? We share the same bed. It'd be  
easy for me to strangle you."  
  
"I love you too, darling."  
  
"Stop it!"  
  
"Oh, but it's so fun."  
  
***  
  
It took them a little over five days to reach Hollyrose. They rode onto the castle  
grounds to find the place literally swarming with people and noise.  
  
"Feels like home, doesn't it?" Neal shouted over the noise of the people.  
  
"Very much so!" Kel shouted back.  
  
"Neal! Kel!"  
  
"Merric!" they cried.  
  
The knight from Hollyrose ran up to them through the sea of people. "I didn't think  
you two were going to make it!"  
  
"We're two days early," Neal said.  
  
"I know. Come on. I'll have the hostlers stable your horses and the servants take  
your things up to your rooms," Merric told them, taking their horses by the reins and  
finding someone to take care of them.  
  
"Well, actually...Neal and I would like to share a room," Kel told Merric. "All right?"  
  
"Not a problem." Merric grabbed a servant by the elbow and told them to take Kel  
and Neal's things up to the room reserved for the duke of Queenscove. "It's so   
hectic around here," he said to Neal and Kel. "It feels almost like we're back at the  
palace."  
  
Neal laughed. "That was what I said when we first came in the gates."  
  
Merric led them into the keep and up to the room they would share. "This is your  
room. Here's your key. If you need anything, ring the bell."  
  
He left them quickly, having something else he needed to do. Kel and Neal unpacked  
their things and carefully unpacked the wedding gift. "I wonder what we're going to do  
now?" Neal said, sitting on the bed.  
  
Kel sat on the bed next to him. "I don't know. We could rest after a completely mad  
race to get to here."  
  
"We could," Neal allowed, lying back on the bed. "Oooh, comfy!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Kel moved so she could rest her head on Neal's chest. "Even more  
comfortable."  
  
He began to stroke her hair. "This is the first time since my birthday that we've had   
chance to just sit here."  
  
"It's nice," she murmured. She was tired. Living with Neal at Queenscove had made  
her lazy, and going on a five-day trip where they rarely paused to rest had taken a  
lot out of her.  
  
Neal gave her a one-armed hug and said, "You can rest, Kel. I'll wake you."  
  
"I don't trust you to wake me up. You'll fall asleep yourself," she muttered, her eyes  
drifting shut anyway.  
  
"Kel?" he said.  
  
"What?" she asked irritably.  
  
"Where's your pregnancy charm?"  
  
"It should be on my neck."  
  
He picked up one of her hands and brought it to her throat. "Where is it?"  
  
Kel bolted upright. "I don't know." She searched through the bags. "I never take  
it off..."  
  
"I'll get you a new one," he told her. "I don't have any with me right now, but..."  
  
"I'll just go to the infirmary here and get one," Kel said.  
  
Although he knew he shouldn't be, he felt a little offended and hurt that Kel was so  
panicked about her pregnancy charm. "Would it be that bad to bear my children?"  
  
"Neal, I'm twenty-one. I was just knighted three years ago. I don't want to be tied  
down with children. It's not that I wouldn't want to bear your children someday,"   
she assured him. "I just don't want any right now."  
  
"Understood, General Kel."  
  
"Oh shut up."  
  
***  
  
The call for supper came early that evening, or early to Neal and Kel, who had   
grown accustomed to eating an hour or so after sundown. Hollyrose, however,  
chose to eat while the sun was still in the sky and had hardly begun setting.  
Kel had been so tired that she had flopped back onto the bed and onto Neal after  
making a fuss over her pregnancy charm, then the call for supper came, and Kel  
found herself swept up with a bunch of the ladies invited to the wedding, and   
Jeraldine, who had decided that all of her female guests and Merric's females   
guests needed matching dresses.  
  
By the time Kel managed to escape that hell, the sky had long since turned dark  
and her brain knew two things: pink dresses did not look very good on her, and  
her brain couldn't process anything other than pink dresses equalled bad.  
  
She flopped into bed and curled up next to Neal that night. The morning greeted  
them by the sun glaring through the open window.  
  
"Who forgot to shut the curtains last night?" Neal mumbled, holding one of the   
pillows over his head as he turned over and buried his face in the other.  
  
"That would be you, genius," Kel retorted, snatching the other pillow from under-  
neath Neal and putting it over her head.  
  
When they finally got out of bed, they went down to the dining hall and ate   
breakfast. By then, all of the guests who were going to show up for the wedding  
had, and so the rehearsal would be held that afternoon. The morning seemed to  
fly by too quickly, and the rehearsal dragged on. Most everyone skipped their  
midday meal, relaxed for the afternoon, and convened again for supper. Supper  
dragged late into the evening, the last night everyone could relax before the big  
day the following morning.  
  
Kel still hadn't found time to visit one of the Hollyrose healers and ask for a new  
pregnancy charm.  
  
The morning of the wedding, July 14, was hectic. Neal and the ushers were herded  
into a large tent on one side of the area set off for the wedding in the field. Jeraldine  
was ushered into a tent opposite of Merric's, with all her bridesmaids and maid of  
honor in there.  
  
Kel had a front row seat, not having any actual part in the wedding itself. Jeraldine  
had had all of her bridesmaids and her maid of honor, and Merric hadn't asked her  
to be an usher--not that she would have agreed. It would have been more than  
slightly weird to be an usher when your husband-to-be was the best man!  
  
The wedding proceeded smoothly, ending with most of the female guests becoming  
misty-eyed or weepy, and Kel felt calloused for no being moved by the ceremony.  
She didn't disagree that it was a lovely, warm experience...but it didn't move her  
to *tears*. It was nothing to cry over...  
  
The reception was held in the banquet hall. Neal realized, once they had all filed into  
the room, that he would have to make a speech honoring Merric. Well, that wasn't a  
problem. They had been through a lot lately. He could muster up something warm   
and heartfelt and probably enough to make the ladies "aww" over him.  
  
Towards the end of the main course, Neal tapped his knife against his chalice to get  
everyone's attention. The guests all turned their eyes towards him obediently, and  
Neal rose to his feet.  
  
"Hello, everyone. For those of you who don't recognize me, my name's Neal of   
Queenscove, a knight and subsequently duke of the fief. Merric chose me to be his  
best man today, and...I don't know if I can tell you exactly why he did that. I don't  
know myself. But I *do* know that over the course of these past years, from our   
servitude as pages to working at Haven and New Hope, to serving border duty, to  
coming back to Corus and finding Kel had gone missing, to going on that mad   
journey to rescue her...we have gotten infinitely close, my friend. Sir Merric of  
Hollyrose has not only served the realm well, but he has served his friends well  
too. Merric, here's to you." He raised his chalice and everyone followed in a  
mock clinking of glasses. "I wish you well." Everyone took a sip of their beverage  
and went back to eating.  
  
"That was a wonderful speech," Kel told him, squeezing his hand. He grinned at   
her. "It was short and to the point. I even heard some of the ladies 'aww' at  
you."  
  
*Well my man,* Neal told himself, *you achieved your goal. You ARE the king.*  
  
"When should we tell of our engagement, dearest?" Neal wanted to know, batting  
his eyes at her.  
  
"Not now," she said, releasing his hand. "Get some vegetables. I haven't seen  
you eat any at all."  
  
"I did!" he tried to tell her.  
  
"Don't lie to me. Pass the vegetables down here, please!" Kel requested   
politely.  
  
"You are *such* a mothering hen," Neal grumbled as the vegetables came down  
the table.  
  
"An ill-fed knight makes an ill-fought battle," she told him. "An ill-fought battle   
makes an ill-won death."  
  
Neal rolled his eyes. "Okay. I'll eat."  
  
"Good boy."  
  
***  
  
Neal and Kel were welcomed to stay in Hollyrose for as long as they wanted.   
They decided to stay another three days before heading back to Queenscove,  
mainly because Neal wouldn't quit worrying about his fief. "You left it under  
Vesiter's care," Kel tried to remind him. "You've left it under him before."  
  
"Yeah, but that was before I was there for five months and used to running   
my fief," Neal muttered bitterly.  
  
"Fine, fine. We'll leave tomorrow," she conceded.  
  
Neal had agreed to that. Merric came to see them that afternoon and found  
out that they had decided to marry the very morning the invitation for his  
wedding to Jeraldine had arrived.  
  
"Well, when is it?" Merric wanted to know.  
  
"We're not sure, but we were thinking of just having a small ceremony, if  
inviting anyone at all." Kel shot Merric an apologetic look. "We just...don't  
want it openly known, you know? Because of You-Know-Who mainly."  
  
Merric nodded wisely. "Of course. I understand. Well, congratulations to  
you two. You're welcome to stay as long as you want."  
  
"We were actually considering leaving tomorrow," Neal told his friend.  
  
"Neal's become a little over-protective of his fief," Kel whispered to Merric.  
  
The male knight shot a look at the emerald-eyed man. "*Neal*? Serious  
about a *fief*? I never thought I would see the day."  
  
"Pretty scary, actually." Kel yawned. "And to think, I'll be his duchess."  
  
"Maybe instead of 'congratulations,' I should say 'good luck,'" Merric  
joked.  
  
"What are you two whispering about over there? Is it something about  
Neal? I heard something about Neal being a duchess," he broke in.  
  
"Yes, dear. You're a duchess," Kel reminded him.  
  
"...And no one seems disturbed by this fact besides me."  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time you were called a duchess."  
  
"You would know, Merric."  
  
"I have nothing to do with this, Duchess."  
  
"Oh, go through yourself off a cliff."  
  
"I'd love to, but there's none around here."  
  
"I'm *not* a duchess."  
  
"If you're a duchess, what does that make Kel?"  
  
"A duke?"  
  
"Hey! I resent that! I may be a knight, but I'm a *lady* knight!" 


	26. Truth

Thanks: Lady Sandrilene, clarylissa, ladyknight, ihl, PharaohsBeloved, Kenta   
Divina  
  
*cries* I don't want to stop this! I don't want it to end! Make it stop, make it stop!  
  
**Chapter 26: Truth**  
  
"*You* did this to me!"  
  
"Lass, now, calm down--"  
  
"I thought we were done! But *no*! You had to go and--uuuuuugggggghhhh!"  
  
"My hand, my hand! Leggo of my hand! Ow! I said leggo of my hand, I didn'   
mean t' grab my arm instead!"  
  
"Okay, Alanna, just one more push..." coaxed the midwife. "Come on, one more  
push and it should just come on out..."  
  
"Should?!" Alanna demanded, pushing anyway.  
  
A few moments that seemed like eternity later, the midwife proclaimed, "I can  
see the head. Keep pushing, Alanna."  
  
"I can't," she panted.  
  
"What, the Lioness? Not bein' able to give birth t' a babe?" George taunted.  
  
"I am going to wring your scrawny neck for that comment," Alanna ground out  
through gritted teeth as she gave the last of her reserves to push the baby out.  
  
Not long after, crying filled the room.  
  
"It's a girl," announced the midwife as she began to clean off the child.  
  
Alanna glared daggers at George. "Come here, *laddy* *me* *love*."  
  
Gulping, George shook his head. "I'll check on our daughter, lass."  
  
"What will you two name her?" the midwife asked, wrapping the baby girl in a  
blanket.  
  
"Acacia," Alanna answered.  
  
"Well, Acacia of Pirate's Swoop, meet your mother and father," the midwife said,  
placing the child in Alanna's arms. Alanna adjusted the blanket around Acacia's  
head and smiled.  
  
"Hello, Acacia."  
  
***  
  
As the last week of July passed and the first two weeks of August pressed forward,  
the third week of August and intense heat washed over Tortall. Luckily, Pirate's  
Swoop sat on the edge of the Emerald Ocean, and the inhabitants didn't feel quite  
as sticky and humid as the rest of the country.  
  
Acacia grew, and as her hair started to come in, Alanna worried.  
  
As much as she would have liked to believe, nobody in George's family or her  
own family had black hair as dark as midnight. The violet eyes came from her,  
but the black hair seemed rather...mysterious.  
  
That was, until she found herself thinking back to Duke Baird's funeral and   
realized, with horror, that she had slept with King Jonathan of Tortall the night  
after the ceremony.  
  
***  
  
Jonathan sent her a summons, asking Alanna to bring the child to Corus for  
some reason or another. Innately, Alanna knew that Jonathan had   
remembered what had happened as well, and wanted to see his new daughter.  
The daughter they had never had when they were together.  
  
So Alanna, after much protesting on George's part, took a carriage up to   
Corus with the month-old baby girl and found Jonathan waiting eagerly for  
her arrival.  
  
"I didn't think you were actually going to come," Jon confessed as he helped  
Alanna to the Champion's quarters.  
  
"Oh? And why not?" Alanna wanted to know, pointing to where she wanted  
her trunk. Jon lugged it over himself. "Since when have I ignored a   
summoning from my king?"  
  
"Point taken," Jonathan sighed. "Do you...remember...what we...?"  
  
Alanna nodded. "Every...well, almost every moment of it."  
  
"It's been a while, hasn't it? You and I," he said, looking at Acacia though  
talking to Alanna.  
  
"Yes, a very long while." Carefully, Alanna handed over the child to her  
father. "I named her Acacia."  
  
"Acacia of Pirate's Swoop," Jonathan murmured. "A very pretty name for  
a very pretty daughter." He smiled at her. "She has your disturbing eyes."  
  
"Gee, thanks."  
  
"They're a shade darker though, don't you think?"  
  
"Probably because of your blue eyes."  
  
"She has my hair."  
  
"She'll definitely have the Gift. Both you and I have it, so she's bound to."  
  
"She's an awfully pretty thing. If I had known this came out of you and me  
I would have done this earlier and named her my heir."  
  
"If you did, I would have hurt you. Badly."  
  
"I love you too, Lioness."  
  
"She'll probably have my free spirit."  
  
"Mithros save us. Another Lioness."  
  
Acacia looked up at Jonathan and looked confused. She looked at Alanna,  
then back at Jonathan, and snuggled into her paternal father's arms and  
fell asleep.  
  
"I think she likes you, Jon," Alanna whispered, reaching for her.  
  
Jonathan backed away a step. "Let me hold her for a little while longer,   
Alanna. Please?" he asked softly. "I may never get to hold her again and  
I...I just..."  
  
She felt so sorry for Jon that she let him hold the baby as long as he   
wanted to. "I'm sorry, Jon. I didn't think about that."  
  
Tenderly, Jon swept Acacia's hair from her eyes. "She's so precious. I  
haven't felt like this since Lianne was born."  
  
"Take your time," Alanna whispered. "She won't go anywhere."  
  
***  
  
That Friday found Kel bent over the privy, heaving out everything in her  
stomach until nothing was left, then heaving some more.   
  
"Kel?" Neal called, knocking on the privy door. "Love, are you all right?"  
  
Kel dry-heaved again. "No, not really..."  
  
"Are you sick?"  
  
"I..." she paused. "I think so."  
  
"Let me see, sweetheart," he requested. She reached back and unlocked  
the privy door, dry-heaving again as soon as she finished. Carefully, Neal  
knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her back. Soon, the tingly  
warmth of his Gift spread through her body and her stomach stopped   
trying to empty itself of contents it didn't have. He sat against the privy  
wall and pulled her slowly into his lap. "There we go," he murmured,  
placing a hand to her forehead. "You don't feel like you're running a fever,  
though you do feel a tad warm. Anything else? Congestion, sore throat,  
coughing, chills?"  
  
"No, but my throat feels raw." She felt better just lying in Neal's arms, even  
though they were sitting in a privy.  
  
"Do you think you can stand?" he wanted to know.  
  
"I think so." She got to her feet and Neal wrapped an arm around her   
waist. Together, they made it out to the bed, where he laid her down.  
  
"Love?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Did you ever get a pregnancy charm again?"  
  
"Ye..." she trailed off, a hand flying to her neck. "Oh no," she moaned.  
  
"Looks like we're going to have a baby."  
  
Kel groaned and rolled onto her side.   
  
"Hey...at least we're married."  
  
"We've only been married for two weeks."  
  
"But we're married, no?"  
  
"Ugh."  
  
***  
  
Udaan hopped off of the trellis he was hanging on and shook his head. He  
had tried to warn Kel against staying with Neal because, truth be told, though  
Neal was obnoxious to him and downright rude, he liked the knight. Now he  
had to go report to the Master what happened with Neal and Kel. Maybe he  
wouldn't share the information of the possible conception, gods willing that the  
Master didn't press him for more information. It was almost time for the  
Aescili anyway. September 23 was rapidly approaching. It was already the  
week before September 1.  
  
Shaming Kel and Neal under his breath, Udaan mounted his horse and began  
the trek back to the Master's domain.  
  
He arrived around the third day of September and passed easily through the  
guards. They knew Udaan's face now. He was the Master's personal spy.  
  
"My Master," he said in a subdued tone, kneeling before the Master's shaded  
pedastal.  
  
"Arise." The Master's omnipotent voice swelled like the tide and washed over  
the stone room.  
  
Udaan hoisted himself up.  
  
"What news do you bring?"  
  
Carefully, Udaan related the stories of the past month, telling of Kel and Neal's  
wedding and moving onto everything else that had happened. Unsure, he left  
out the detail he had just learned.  
  
"You attempt to hide something from me. What is it?"  
  
Trying not to cringe, Udaan said, "M'lord, tis possible that Kel and Neal may've  
conceived a babe between 'em."  
  
For a moment, the room was frighteningly silent.  
  
"That is a possibility."  
  
Udaan let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Tis only a possibility.  
They didn' have proof when I heard 'em."  
  
"I understand."  
  
The one-armed man bowed. "I regret not bringin' ye some better news,   
m'lord."  
  
"Then correct your error."  
  
Udaan recognized a dismissal when he heard one and backed out of the chamber,  
only turning when he reached the door. Shaking his head, he sank down against  
the wall, staring at the torchlight flickering off of his golden bracelet. *I told ye t'  
stay way from 'im, Kel. I liked ye. I tried not t' sell ye out, but He knows me too  
well. May luck stay on yer side, sweetheart. May ye not truly be pregnant an'  
mayhap yer husband will escape wit' his life.*  
  
***  
  
Merric paced up and down the aisles of the paltry Hollyrose library, searching for  
anything that would give him a clue about where the Aescili would be held or  
when it would occur, or what it would entail. Thus far, he had found nothing. He  
had the creeping suspicion that the fief of Mystra would have more on the legend  
of Abscador because it was closer to Stone Mountain. The man who might have  
known anything about Aescili would have been...  
  
"Myles," Merric murmured. Not too long ago, Myles had had essays about the  
Ancients published and shelved in the library at the palace in Corus, and thus far  
no one else had a copy. The essays had only been bound the month before.  
  
"I need to get a copy of those essays..."  
  
He tore out of the library like his heels were on fire and found Jeraldine with  
her ladies-in-waiting in her chambers.  
  
"Jerri?"   
  
Jeraldine looked up and smiled at Merric. "Hello. What do you need?"  
  
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.  
  
"May I," she corrected absently, setting down her embroidery and joining Merric  
outside her chambers. "What is it, Merric?"  
  
He kissed her gently. "I love you, but I have to go to Corus for a few days.   
Jonathan's orders. I don't know when I'll return, but I'll try to write. I may not  
be able to, depending on what he has me do."  
  
Jeraldine pouted. "Can't you tell him that you just got married and you want to  
spend time with your beautiful wife?"  
  
Again, he kissed her. "I wish I could, but I really have to go."  
  
She searched his eyes and sighed. Softly, her fingers went to the wrist sporting  
the gold bracelet. "It has to do with this, does it not?"  
  
"There's no lying to you, is there?" Merric murmured. "Yes, it has to do with this,  
and no, I can't tell you what. I...have to go to Corus though, and I really don't  
know when I'll be back. I will try to write, though."  
  
"Come back alive, please. I don't want to be a widow after barely a month," she  
told him.  
  
"I promise I'll try to come back alive." He gave her a final kiss, had things packed  
for a journey to Corus, and went out to the stables to saddle his horse.  
  
***  
  
Contrary to what Udaan had told the Master, Kel did have confirmation that she  
was pregnant. With Neal's child. At age twenty-one.  
  
"Well, love, should we wait until Jon summons us back to Corus or get a head   
start on things?" Neal asked of his wife, stroking her hair as she laid her head on  
his shoulder.  
  
"Will you let me be a knight if we go back?" Kel retorted.  
  
"Of course," he replied. "It's who you are. How can I deny you that which you  
worked so hard for?"  
  
"Stop it. You're starting to sound like Cleon," she said. "It scares me. I didn't  
marry Cleon, thank Mithros."  
  
Neal laughed. "Thank Mithros you didn't. If you had, I would have had to   
kidnap you myself."  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "So, should we go back to Corus? Yes or no?"  
  
"I say...yes. My mother will live to see her precious grandchild, and you and I  
have had enough loafing around." Suddenly, Neal shuddered. "Did I just say   
we had enough loafing around? *Me*? Wanting to do *work*? Who died and  
said I should want to work? Oh...my father, that's right."  
  
"We'll leave tomorrow morning?" she made it into a question.  
  
"Tomorrow morning," he agreed.  
  
The servants had their things packed and ready to go in the morning, and Kel  
and Neal managed to rouse themselves at dawn. Neal griped all the way down  
to the kitchen where they grabbed some fruit and dried meat, grumbled all the  
way to the stables, complained as they saddled their horses, threatened the   
sun with many buckets of water, and grumbled as they left Queenscove.  
  
Finally, Kel had had enough and smacked him upside the head.  
  
"Ow!" he cried melodramatically, clutching his head.  
  
"Oh for the love of the Goddess, stop whining, you big baby!" Kel demanded.  
  
He pouted at her and stayed silent for about three minutes. Then he began  
to whimper about abusive, hormonal, expecting wives, to which Kel replied,  
"You made me this way."  
  
That shut Neal up for another few minutes, then he began to mumble about  
going on a journey so early in the morning again.  
  
***  
  
Merric arrived at Corus two days before Neal and Kel, having a hostler stable  
his horse and having a servant take his things to his quarters. As soon as he  
was free of material ties for the moment, he ran to the library, brushing past  
ladies, lords, and fellow knights. He almost careened into Princess Lianne but  
stopped himself, allowing the girl to walk past him, then continued his mad  
dash to the library. He just hoped someone wasn't already reading the essays  
when he arrived.  
  
"Come on, come on," he panted, crashing through the library doors so quickly  
that the inhabitants scowled at him. Ignoring them, he ran for the aisle he   
had previously found the book on the legend of Abscador in. "Where are you,  
where are you..."  
  
It occured to him then that he didn't know the title of the book of essays,   
which made it infinitely harder to find.  
  
Sheepishly, he sought out the card catalogue, flipping through the cards in  
search of Sir Myles of Olau. Finally, his finger landed on the knight's name  
and Merric pulled the card out, careful to keep the space for the card open.  
He looked at the location of the book and the title, memorized it, set the card  
back, and took off again.  
  
"No running in the library!"  
  
Merric ignored the order mostly and sped to his selected aisle. Furiously, he  
combed through the books and finally, *finally* came upon his prey--er,   
the book he sought after.  
  
"If there's anything in here that would be useful...maybe I can show it to  
Kel and Neal," Merric murmured, took the book, and sat down in one of the  
chairs to read.  
  
***  
  
Neal and Kel arrived at the palace around midday the following day. Kel  
felt a little nauseous, so Neal helped her to their quarters, kissed her on  
the forehead, and went to go find some of the people he hadn't seen for  
half of a year.  
  
The first person he found was Owen.  
  
"Neal! Jolly good to see you!" Owen cried as he saw his older friend.  
"I heard a rumor that you and Kel got married?"  
  
Grinning, Neal nodded. "We did."  
  
"About jolly time, too! We all had bets running on when you would pop  
the question. When *did* you ask her? Please say June..." Owen   
pleaded.  
  
Neal nodded. "I asked her in June. I had tried to ask her in April and  
May but I kept getting interrupted. Don't you hate that?"  
  
"I do indeed. I had two silver nobles riding on that month! Looks like I  
need to go collect. Anyway, when did you two marry? And why didn't  
you invite me?" Owen pressed.  
  
"About three weeks ago we got married," Neal replied easily. "We didn't  
invite you, or Merric, or Cleon, or anyone else. Just my mother and her  
parents. We didn't want a particularly large ceremony because Merric's  
wedding scared us away from that."  
  
"I heard about that one," Owen nodded wisely. "Jolly good time at   
Hollyrose, at least, that's what everyone who went said. I feel so left   
out of the loop!"  
  
"Weren't you up at border patrol for April through July anyway?" Neal  
questioned, raising an eyebrow at the younger knight.  
  
Owen blushed. "Well, er, yes, and that was jolly too, but, you see...I  
just...it would have been nice to get invited to some of these things!"  
  
Cracking a half-smile, Neal patted his friend on the shoulder. "I was  
just teasing you in any case. Who else is here?"  
  
Owen rambled off the list of the study group from their page and  
squire years that was at the palace. "...Dom and Yuki, who are engaged  
now by the way, and Merric came in yesterday. I think he may have  
gone mad though from marrying that lady from Mystra. He's been in  
the library reading like a madman all day yesterday and this morning.  
You should go check on him."  
  
"I will. Thanks, Owen. See you at supper." Quickly, Neal headed for  
the library. He could only think of one reason Merric would keep himself  
like that was if he found something about the Master or pertaining to the  
tools of Abscador, and Neal wasn't about to miss that.  
  
***  
  
Quietly, Neal stood behind Merric, reading over his shoulder and waiting  
for the younger knight to notice him. When he didn't, Neal placed a hand  
over Merric's eyes. "Boo."  
  
Merric jumped a mile, smacking the top of his head into Neal's chin.  
  
"Ouch, dammit! That hurt!" Neal cried, rubbing his chin. One of the library  
attendants glared at him and told him not to be so loud. Rolling his eyes,  
Neal sat down next to Merric. "What are you reading?"  
  
"'Ageless History' by Sir Myles," Merric said absently, going back to  
reading.  
  
"What has you so captivated?" Neal asked.  
  
"It's about the Ancients," he replied emptily, his mind obviously elsewhere.  
  
"What kind of horse did you ride here?" Neal questioned further.  
  
"A horse of a different color," he mumbled.  
  
"I see. Do you like the book you're reading?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you going to show me something when you're done with it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Can I bed your sister?"  
  
"Yes--hey, what the hell?"  
  
Neal snickered. "I wouldn't bed your sister. I'm a married man, my  
friend."  
  
"Kel actually became the Duchess Keladry of Queenscove?" Merric   
asked incredulously.  
  
"...Yes. What's so wrong about that?" Neal wanted to know, eyeing  
Merric suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing, nothing," Merric said hurriedly. *Gods! She actually   
married him. Neal, the duchess of Queenscove.* "Nothing, Duchess  
Neal."  
  
"It better--hey. That's enough of that, now," Neal said warningly.  
  
Merric snickered this time. "Stop talking so I can finish reading this."  
  
"Yes, my lord," Neal said monotonously.  
  
"I'll ignore the sarcastic overtones of that statement." Quickly, Merric  
finished reading the essays and sighed. "Well, Neal. Why don't you   
read this essay and form your own conclusions?"  
  
Merric handed over the book, opened to an essay about legends and  
mythology. Raising an eyebrow, Neal began to read. The essay went  
on and on about the gods, and suddenly, a name popped out at him.  
  
'The legend, or myth, of Abscador and Cathos was passed down   
through the Ancient culture for many years. Supposedly, the wife of  
Cathos kept a diary of the events leading up to that day. Although  
the ceremony, called the Aescili after the name the god known as   
Abscador took when he adopted mortality, was believed to be held in  
the armory of a house in Olau, little proof has been provided to prove  
this assumption true. As well, little evidence has been discovered to  
prove this assumption false.   
  
The ceremony of the Aescili, or Rite of Ascension, had to be held on an  
equinox. The first Aescili, and only Aescili known to date, was held on  
the autumnal equinox. It was said that candles of every color had been  
arranged in an unbroken circle around the virgin princess sacrifice, and  
the princess then brutally murdered by plunging the Sword of Abscador  
through her breastbone. Enough blood to fill a chalice was collected into  
two separate cups, and both Cathos and Abscador took two full gulps of  
the virgin princess's blood. Starting with the white candle, each candle  
mysteriously extinguished after the flame turned the color of the candle  
set before it in line. Finally, when the black candle with black flame   
burned no more, the last drop of the virgin's blood had left her body.  
After that had happened, Cathos became a god, and Abscador a mere  
mortal.  
  
It is said, as well, that Abscador wrote a series of magical incantations,  
rituals, and ingredients on a scroll and hid it somewhere in the vicinity of  
the fief of Stone Mountain. Abscador's, or, rather, Aescili's, descendents  
then spread, trying to find the Sword of Abscador and Scroll of Abscador.  
Today's inhabitants of Stone Mountain and Olau are supposedly the heirs  
to Aescili's fortune, hidden somewhere for the past centuries. It is   
believed that the Royal Family, specifically the Conte line, has found the  
Asecili Fortune and used that to better the good of Tortall.  
  
It is generally well accepted that in order for the ritual to come to   
completion again, it would need to be held at the original location of the  
original ceremony. However, no one knows with utmost certainty where  
the original ceremony took place. Most guess that it happened in the  
ruins of the Ancients buildings at the Barony Olau, while others still   
believe that it truly took place in Stone Mountain.'  
  
"Well," Neal breathed. "That was...informative."  
  
"Oh, I forgot. Did you read the other book about that particular legend?"  
Merric asked. When Neal shook his head, Merric retrieved the book and  
handed it over. "Here, go ahead and read it."  
  
Neal obeyed and seemed to pale when he finished. "We'll need to bring  
Kel down here. I have no idea how he would perform this thing without  
the necessary certain immortal being..."  
  
"I have no doubt that this particular person will find a way. Doesn't he  
always?"  
  
***  
  
In the end, the books were smuggled out of the library by Merric and  
taken to Neal and Kel's room while Neal went to go visit Alanna. When he  
knocked on the door, he heard a baby wail inside.  
  
"Alanna?" he asked.  
  
"Come on in, Neal," Alanna replied tiredly. As Neal opened the door, the  
baby stopped crying.  
  
"Whoa. I suppose that's the baby you were pregnant with back in...erm...  
whenever we went down to Pirate's Swoop?"  
  
"The very. This is Acacia," Alanna introduced them.  
  
Neal smiled. "Hello, Acacia. Aren't you a pretty little girl?"  
  
"Everyone says that," Alanna sighed.  
  
"She's gorgeous. I didn't know anyone in your family had black hair?"  
Neal made it into a question.  
  
"Long story, don't want to explain." Alanna yawned.  
  
"Do you want me to hold her so you can sit down for a little bit?" Neal  
offered. *I'm going to have a baby of my own in nine months so I may  
as well get used to it.*  
  
Wordlessly, Alanna handed Acacia to Neal and sat down heavily on the   
bed. "Thanks," she mumbled.  
  
"Not a problem, former knight-master," he said. "Besides, I need to   
have a little practice, you know?"  
  
Alanna stared at Neal. "Is Kel pregnant?"  
  
Neal just grinned.  
  
"Congratulations, good luck, and don't seek me out for help. I've had  
enough of babies after this one," Alanna sighed.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it," Neal said.  
  
***  
  
The evening came and went, and as Lianne took a last sip of water in her   
chambers, she suddenly felt dizzy and her world blacked out. She collapsed  
to the floor, limbs folding underneath her, and from the shadows stepped a  
man with one arm.  
  
"I hate this part," Udaan grumbled, hoisting the princess over his only  
shoulder. "I always get stuck doin' manual work."  
  
As he touched Lianne, she disappeared with the spell that concealed Udaan.  
Without a noise, he walked past the king and queen and everybody else,  
strapped Lianne to his horse, and rode off into the night with her.  
  
"Everyone was so damn busy guardin' that Kalasin princess that they fergot  
abou' poor li'l Lianne. Heh. Life jus' ain't fair, righ', Lianne?"  
  
***  
  
Joren sat in his chambers, the room deathly silent except for the soft   
rustle of his clothes as he breathed and the faint crackle of the fire as  
the wick of the candle in front of his burned. Next to it lied the Scroll of  
Abscador, translated and in impeccable condition. Joren's face was   
illuminated by the small red and orange flame of the candle.  
  
He began to whisper something about a Sacred Candle, steadily growing  
louder until his tone became conversational. "'As thy candle yond flickers  
to and fro the lights of dawn...and lest thy Sacred Flame doth perish, a   
World of Light doth reign supreme.'"  
  
A cold, calculating smile spread across the blond man's features and,   
without explanation, the flame flickered out.  
  
"'And whence the Sacred Flame came forth, young Cathos stood and  
prayed. He sayeth these words in a whisper soft a smoke: "The Flame  
doth burn. When the Flame burneth no more, arise My father and claim  
thy throne." Thus Abscador and Cathos becameth one and same.'"  
  
Mysteriously, the other candles in the room flickered to life.  
  
"The time for the Aescili has come." 


	27. Somewhere Cold

Thanks: Sandry, ladyknight, ShadowFox, The Rain Child, Lady Wild Rose,  
ihl, Fanty, Stacey  
  
*whimpers* The end. The end, it's so close, it's so close I can taste it!  
Oh wait, that's just the spicy chicken sandwich I just had.  
  
This is so sad. I wanted to reach the end so badly because I had a good  
idea, but now that the end's approaching...*sigh* I just don't want it to  
end. The only thing is, I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head.  
In fact, I was thinking about having an experiment. I'll write my next fic  
(after Love Stinks meets its end) entirely, then post a chapter a day or  
every other day, that way it won't be so sporadic between my updates.  
  
By the way, would anyone read it if I wrote a Circle fic about Tris? I had  
this really good idea for a Circle fic, and I was just wondering if anyone  
(besides Sandry, obviously) would read it. If not, then...too bad. I'll write  
it anyway, and you'll just have to wait for my next Tortallverse fic (which,  
by the way, may include the Court of the Rogue, Neal, and Kel, if that will  
tantalize you any).  
  
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even  
touched. They must be felt with the heart."  
  
**Chapter 27: Somewhere Cold**  
  
The palace was in complete chaos. It was as if Princess Lianne has simply  
vanished from her quarters, bed untouched. The only indication anything  
had happened and that Lianne had been in her room the night before was  
a shattered glass and the remnants of a puddle of water. No scrap of the  
nightgown she had worn remained, no suggestion that a struggle had taken  
place...  
  
A little bit of the water could be collected from the stone floor, and the   
sample was taken to Neal and Alanna.  
  
Both Neal and Alanna came to the conclusion that the water had, indeed,  
been contaminated with a clear, odorless drug. Highly potent, extremely  
effective, and fast-acting.  
  
"Virgin princess," Neal muttered, leaving Alanna's room and heading to the  
stables. When he got there, he found that Kel had packed their things and  
saddled their horses. "Love?"  
  
"Merric left this morning," Kel offered as explanation.  
  
Suddenly, Neal felt a need to go somewhere so strongly that it nearly brought  
him to his knees. "He went to...to..."  
  
"To?" Kel prompted.  
  
"Olau," Neal breathed and gasped as another pull like a magnet drew him to   
his knees this time. "We...we have to go. *Now*."  
  
Kel nodded and finished loading up their packmule. Gingerly, she helped Neal  
to his feet and mounted her horse. "So, let's go to Olau."  
  
"Not so loud," Neal hissed, rubbing his wrist. The bracelet seemed to throb,  
contracting and releasing, against his arm. "Gods...what's going on? How did  
I get into this mess? Why do you hate me so much?"  
  
Trying to ignore the uncomfortably varying pressure on his wrist, Neal mounted  
his horse and led Kel out of the stables towards the south gate. "Be thankful   
you don't have one of these gods-cursed things, Kel," he said through gritted  
teeth.  
  
"Thankful," Kel promised. "It looks painful."  
  
"You have no," he sucked in a breath, "idea."  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Alanna heard a rumor floating around about a bunch of   
knights suddenly leaving for Barony Olau and decided she should check it out.  
Jon offered to watch over Acacia while Alanna went to Olau, but she declined.  
Something told her that she would need to bring her daughter for one reason  
or another.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jon," Alanna apologized as she packed up the things she had brought  
for Acacia.  
  
"Don't...don't let her get hurt," Jonathan requested. "Please. I...I don't know if  
I could handle it if anything happened to her. We made her for a reason, so..."  
  
Alanna hugged Jonathan. "I promise she won't get hurt."  
  
Jonathan hugged her back. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Lioness."  
  
Rolling her eyes, she swatted him and put the finishing touches on her bags.  
"Well, I'm off to make sure some of your knights and my fellow colleagues aren't  
vandalizing my barony."  
  
"Safe journey, Alanna. You and Acacia come back, understand? That's a royal order,"  
Jonathan told her seriously.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, my lord." She lifted Acacia from her cradle and strode down the  
hallway. Since the trip was spur of the moment, she was leaving her trunk in Corus.  
However, Jon had ordered one of the palace drivers to take her to Olau in a carriage,  
which Alanna was more than happy to accept. Truth be told, she didn't think she   
could carry a baby and ride a horse at the same time. She may have been skilled,  
but not skilled enough to ride like that.  
  
Jonathan waved as she rode off, and Alanna couldn't help but feel that she may be  
riding into uncertain doom.  
  
***  
  
Neal and Kel arrived at the barony to find Merric pacing outside of it. He looked up  
at Neal and Kel with wild eyes. "I don't know where to go, you two. I feel like I'm  
being pulled apart in twenty different directions."  
  
As soon as Merric said that, Neal felt it too. "It's...it's these damn bracelets..."  
  
He actually whimpered, holding his wrist. "Gods..." he muttered, squeezing his eyes  
shut. "It's not passing...it usually passes..."  
  
"I've been like this since last night." Merric scratched at his wrist. "I tried to take it  
off..."  
  
"And you're still alive?" Neal asked incredulously.  
  
"But not without a trophy." Gingerly, Merric moved the bracelet up his arm a little  
and showed off a burn mark in a perfect circle around the base of his hand. An ugly  
yellow and purple bruise had begun to form at the edges of the burn mark.  
  
"Shit," Neal breathed. "That looks like it hurts like a bitch."  
  
"...Thank you for putting it so eloquently," Merric said sarcastically.  
  
Neal managed a strained grin. He had a feeling that his bracelet was hurting him   
more than Merric, burn mark and all. "Well, you still have your sarcasm, so you  
can't be in that much pain."  
  
"I don't think we can all stand here forever," Kel said, "because the guards are   
bound to notice three knights with very noticeable horses just lurking about over  
here. Maybe we could go to the trees or something?"  
  
Nodding, Neal and Merric led their horses over to a patch of trees nearby.   
  
"Shade," Merric sighed.  
  
"Gods, even *in* the shade you can feel the heat," Neal complained, playing with  
his bracelet that suddenly seemed ten times tighter.  
  
"That's why you should cut your hair, Neal." Yawning, Kel dug around in one of  
her bags and produced a hairtie. "Here."  
  
"Thank you, love." Quickly, Neal tied his hair back. "Much better." He kissed her  
on the cheek.  
  
Merric groaned. "Don't do that. I'm a newly married man myself, and you're just  
flaunting what I left behind at Hollyrose in front of me."  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow. "Kel looks nothing like Jeraldine, thank Mithros."  
  
Eyes narrowing, Merric asked, "Are you calling my wife ugly?"  
  
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Neal replied playfully.  
  
Merric punched Neal in the arm. "Someone's going to kill you for that mouth one  
day."  
  
"Boys," Kel said.  
  
"Yes, Mother Kel?" Merric and Neal answered in unison. They looked at each other  
and started to laugh, Kel trying to ignore them but her lips twitched into a smile and  
she found herself laughing too.  
  
***  
  
Around three in the afternoon the next day, Alanna arrived at Olau. She spotted the  
trio of knights that always seemed to be together lately and called up to the driver  
to stop the carriage.  
  
"Kel? Neal? Merric?" Alanna called out of the window.  
  
Three heads turned her way. "Alanna!" shouted Neal, waving.  
  
"What are you three doing out there?" she wanted to know.  
  
The three stopped and looked at each other.'  
  
"What do we say?" Neal whispered hurriedly to his wife and friend.  
  
"Waiting for her," Merric answered.  
  
"Why do we have to lie?" Kel asked. Her answer was Merric showing her his bruised  
and burned wrist, and Neal showing her his raw wrist where he had been scratching   
at it for fear of being burned or killed if he took it off. "Oh. Carry on then."  
  
"We were waiting for you, Alanna! What *else* would we have been doing?" Neal  
told her.  
  
Shaking her head, Alanna turned her gaze to Kel. "Kel? Would you and your two  
miscreant companions like to join me in the carriage?"  
  
"Miscreants?" Neal huffed indignantly. "Well, I *never*."  
  
"Do I have a husband or a wife? Get moving, Nealan. Come on, Merric." Kel   
turned them towards Alanna. "Alanna, should we bring our things with us?"  
  
"I'll send a servant out to get them," Alanna promised. The three then ran for the  
carriage and clambered in. "How long were you out there?"  
  
"Since yesterday," all three answered.  
  
Alanna sighed. "I'm sorry this carriage takes so long."  
  
"It's not a problem, now that we're here," Merric said, waving it off.  
  
"Why were you three waiting for me?" Alanna wanted to know.  
  
Neal and Merric looked expectantly at Kel, who looked startled. Then she realized  
she was the only one who could speak without dying. She proceeded to tell Alanna  
the whole sordid tale, starting from when she had been kidnapped down until the   
day before, and finished with saying, "We think that the Aescili will be held here, and  
that Princess Lianne was taken here."  
  
Alanna let out a low whistle. "I see. Where, specifically, here?"  
  
"Do you have any place here that has an armory guarded by some sort of magical  
creature? An immortal, perhaps? Something?" Kel suggested.  
  
It took Alanna a moment, but she nodded. "When I came here as a page with my  
father, he showed me the ruins down there." Alanna motioned to them out of Merric's  
window. "There was an armory down there guarded by some sort of creature. I  
think it was guarding my sword, Lightning."  
  
Both Merric and Neal gasped at the same moment, clutching at their wrists. "Stop the  
carriage," Neal ground out, fumbling for the door.  
  
Alanna flung forth the order to stop as Merric and Neal wrestled their doors open and  
tumbled out onto the ground. Trading glances, Alanna, with Acacia, and Kel climbed   
out of the carriage and followed the men down into the ruins.   
  
"My hand's going to fall off," Neal said to Merric, trying to spread some humor even  
though he actually did feel as if his hand would simply drop off of his wrist.  
  
Merric gave a bitter laugh. "This is pain unimagineable, my friend."  
  
"I'll have to," Neal sucked in a breath, "agree. Worse than being stabbed in the  
gut."  
  
"When were you ever stabbed in the gut?" Merric asked.  
  
They continued to talk, letting their feet take them wherever the bracelets were   
calling them. So wrapped up in trying to distract themselves from their pain were  
they that they nearly ran into one of the buildings. The pain abruptly stopped from  
their bracelets, and they warily traded expressions, looking at the building in front  
of them.  
  
It was shoddy, crumbling and one wall had almost completely eroded away. The  
roof barely stayed on it, and it was faint, but Neal saw a soft red sheen around the  
building, a red the color of blood. He let out a shaky breath and looked behind  
him at Kel and Alanna. "It's here," Neal said. He looked to Alanna. "Do you see  
the magic around it?"  
  
Alanna shook her head. "There's no Gift on that building, Neal. I would have   
known..."  
  
Frowning, Neal looked at Merric. "Do you see it? It's pretty pale, but it's there."  
  
Carefully, Merric peeked at the building and nodded. "I see it."  
  
"Kel?"  
  
Helplessly, she shook her head. "I've never seen magic. Neal, what are you--hey,  
why are you making me touch your brace--oh. Now I see it. It's red, isn't it?"  
  
"It's the bracelets," Neal announced to the group. "Come on. We're going in."  
  
"Shouldn't you take the baby inside, Alanna?" Kel inquired, frowning. "I don't  
think places like this are baby-safe."  
  
Frowning, Alanna shook her head. "I don't think I should take her inside.   
Something tells me that I'll need to bring her inside..."  
  
"All right..." Kel trailed off. Neal, Kel, Merric, and Alanna all stood there, waiting   
around listlessly. "Do you think you need to come?" she asked finally. "If just  
the baby needs to come in..."  
  
"I don't understand what's going on, but something tells me that the gods are  
meddling in this. They don't want me in there...but they want Acacia. Kel...take  
care of Acacia, please." Was it Kel's imagination, or was there a slight tremor to  
Alanna's voice as she handed over the child? "Good luck, you three...you four.  
Make it back alive...please..."  
  
Alanna turned and walked away with as much composure as she could muster.  
  
"Is anyone else scared?" Neal asked. Merric raised his hand and Kel nodded.  
  
"Witless," Kel replied.  
  
"Shitless," Merric corrected.  
  
"As long as that's established. Shall we?" he motioned to the building and to the  
slightly ajar door inside.  
  
Without answering, Merric went in first, followed by Kel and Acacia, with Neal   
bringing up the rear, sword drawn and nerves taut.  
  
***  
  
Inside the room of the slightly ajar door was darkness. Suddenly, torches flared  
to life on either side of the room, illuminating that it wasn't truly a room but a   
hallway. As a precaution, Neal flung a magical barrier around Kel and Acacia,  
not wanting to unnecessarily endanger his wife and his former knight-master's  
daughter.  
  
"Hello?" Neal said softly. Just that soft statement echoed down the nearly empty  
hallway.  
  
Merric turned around, gave him a dirty look, and held a finger to his lips, telling  
Neal to quiet silently. Embarrassed, Neal looked away and around them.  
  
Something rumbled nearby. All three of them froze and Acacia chose that   
moment to burst out in tears. In vain, Kel struggled to silence the baby girl but  
whatever it was had heard them. It rumbled again, the sound of rocks crashing  
onto the ground and skidding against other stones.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we're found out creature," Merric told them.  
  
A tentacle reached out of the wall on their left, mere millimeters above Kel's   
head. She yelped and jumped away as Neal came forward and chopped off the  
offending appendage. It allowed his sword through with surprising ease, and  
as it fell to the ground, white goose feathers sprayed from the inside. Frowning,  
Neal hacked at the wall, finding two people hiding inside a compartment, one  
scraping a rock against two others and one controlling goose-feather-stuffed  
tentacles.  
  
Merric poked Tentacle Man with his sword. "What are you doing?"  
  
Tentacle Man looked at Merric, his face pale. "I...I no speak Common."  
  
"What's your excuse, Rocky?" Neal poked the man with the rocks in the back  
with his sword.  
  
"I...am following orders?" Rocky suggested.  
  
"Nope, sorry. Play again some other day," Neal said. Rocky, apparently, had  
other ideas and jumped up with his stone, nearly bringing it down on Neal's  
head. He missed and fell over. "Hey! That was unprovoked!" he cried, kicking  
the rock out of the man's hand. The man reached for a dagger at his waist and  
stabbed Neal's shin with it. "That was *certainly* uncalled for!" with a swift  
motion, Neal killed the man. "Pain..."  
  
Merric, meanwhile, had almost been beheaded by Tentacle Man and had killed  
him. "You okay, Neal?"  
  
"Do I *look* like I'm okay?!" Neal demanded, turning around so Merric could  
see the blood stain forming on his breeches. "These were new breeches too!"  
Grumbling, Neal tore off a clean piece of his tunic and made a crude bandage  
out of it, applying some of his Gift to the affected area. "Ow."  
  
"We should go back," Kel said worriedly. "I feel so helpless with this baby in   
my arms." Acacia had stopped crying. "I couldn't even protect you when that  
man stabbed you..."  
  
"Love, you didn't even see him. Neither did I. There was nothing you could  
have done, baby or no. Now, we're going on and that's that. I feel fine." Neal  
limped for a few paces and corrected his step, walking in a semblance of   
normal gait. "Let's go."  
  
***  
  
When they reached the end of the hallway, they found a cast iron gate in their  
way. "What the hell is this?" Neal demanded, grabbing one of the bars with his  
free hand and shaking it. The gate just rattled.  
  
Kel shrugged. "Don't look at me."  
  
"Hello?" Merric called. All it did was echo further down the hallway. "This..."  
he started to say, but an envelope on a string was lowered in front of his   
face. "...seems to be addressed to us." He pulled it off of the string and   
opened it up. "'Merric, Kel, Neal, Acacia--you've made it to the first gate.  
Answer my question and you may pass. Correctly answer it within the  
allotted time, and you may escape with your lives. Answer incorrectly, and  
pay the price. When you have finished and want to answer, write it in the   
back of this paper and attach it to the string. How many letters are in the   
alphabet?'"   
  
Neal frowned. "What kind of question is that? Everyone knows there's   
twenty-six letters in the alphabet."  
  
Kel nodded. "Twenty-six letters in the alphabet."  
  
Shaking his head, Merric reread the note. "I don't think that's what it's asking,  
you two."  
  
"It says, 'how many letters are in the alphabet?'!" Neal insisted. "It's twenty-  
six. Write it down."  
  
"Gods, you're bossy. Do you honestly think the Master would ask us something  
that simple?" Merric asked.  
  
Kel bit her lip. "He's right, Neal. He wouldn't ask us something so simple."  
  
Neal sat down. "Fine."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Kel handed Acacia to Neal and looked over Merric's shoulder  
at the note. "How many letters are in the alphabet..." she murmured. "How  
many letters...are in the alphabet..."  
  
"That's it!" Merric cried. "How many letters are in the alphabet!"  
  
Realization dawned on Kel's face. "Yeah!" she looked down at the note. "Neal,  
do you understand?"  
  
He was too busy playing with Acacia to listen to them.  
  
"Merric, write down eleven. There's eleven letters in 'the alphabet,'" Kel  
grinned.  
  
"There's twenty-six," Neal muttered obstinately.  
  
"Not in the words 'the alphabet,'" Kel countered. "There's eleven."  
  
Feeling like an idiot, Neal went back to playing with Acacia.  
  
Merric pulled a quill pen out of the envelope, finding it already inked, and   
wrote down the number eleven on the sheet of paper. He reattached it to  
the string, tugged on it twice, and the string was reeled up. A few tense  
moments passed, then the gate swung open. "Let's go!"  
  
***  
  
They came to the next gate to find the note already attached to the bars with  
the number two inscribed on the envelope. This time, Neal read the note.  
"'Kel, Merric, Neal, Acacia--so, you made it to the second gate. This time, the  
game will be a little harder to play. There are seven torches in the immediate   
area. The key to this gate is hidden on the wall behind a certain torch. The wall   
with four torches contains an unlit torch. The key is not behind this torch, and   
the key is not behind the first torch on the wall with three torches. The first   
torch on the wall with four torches is diagonally across from the torch that is  
next to a torch that may or may not be directly across from the torch next to   
the torch where the key is hidden. You have twenty minutes to find the key,   
starting with the moment these words come out of Neal's mouth.' Shit. Come  
on, you two, let's get started."  
  
"Why can't we just go down the wall and see if it's there?" Merric asked.  
  
"Because that will take more than twenty minutes, even with all three of us,"  
Kel told him.  
  
"Okay. This is the wall with three torches, because the wall across from it has  
an unlit torch. It's not behind the unlit torch, and it's not behind this torch."   
Neal touched the wall next to the torch behind him. It was the first torch on  
the wall with three. "The first torch on the wall with four is diagonally across  
from a torch..." Neal ran over to the first torch, and ran diagonally across to  
the second torch on wall with three torches. "It may or may not be directly  
across from the torch..." Neal ran directly across to the second torch on the  
wall with four. "Next to the torch where the key is hidden. It must be behind  
the third torch on this wall because the first one doesn't have it!"  
  
Triumphantly, Neal pulled the key out from behind the torch and ran up to the  
gate. "Come on, you two!" he called excitedly. He stuck the key into the lock  
and turned, only to find it didn't move. "...What? Move!" he kicked the gate   
and tried to unlock it again. "Shit. Don't tell me there's a key behind each   
torch."  
  
Merric turned and ran down to the last torch on the wall with four. It had to  
be this key. He ran back up to Neal and handed over the key. "Here," he   
panted.  
  
Neal tried this key and sighed with relief when he felt the tumblers fall into   
place. They wouldn't have had time to collect the other three keys and try  
them, because it was already fifteen minutes into the allotted time. As he  
pushed the gate open, he corralled Merric and Kel in before him and slipped  
in behind them, dropping the gate shut.  
  
***  
  
"...Another gate. Why are there so many damned gates down here?" Neal  
demanded, staring at the iron in front of him.  
  
"This is the third one. At the fourth one you can start complaining," Kel told  
him firmly.  
  
"What does our clue say this time?" Merric wanted to know, taking Acacia  
from Kel.  
  
Kel walked over to the gate and looked around. "I don't see it here..." she  
looked to the left and found it dangerously close to one of the torches.   
"Whoa there." She picked it up. "'Merric, Neal, Kel, Acacia--this is the   
third gate. I had hoped you would make it this far. For this gate, I have a  
new word riddle for you to answer. You have six minutes to work this one  
out, starting as soon as Kel reads the end of this riddle: a farmer and his  
son were carrying grain to the barn. The farmer carried one sack of grain and  
his son carried two sacks. Who carried the heavier load, and why? The clock  
starts now.'"  
  
"The son," Neal said. "He's carrying two sacks, so he obviously has the   
heavier load."  
  
"Stop thinking on the surface, Neal. There has to be a catch here somewhere.  
It wouldn't be that obvious. Remember with the alphabet riddle? It's got to  
be like this," Kel reminded him.  
  
Chewing his lip, Merric looked at Acacia. "Do you know the answer, sweet-  
heart?"  
  
Acacia just waved her fist at him.  
  
"The farmer carried one sack of grain and the son carried two sacks. I   
don't get it. Who's carrying the heavier load? Maybe the sacks are different  
sizes..." Merric thought aloud.  
  
"One sack of grain and two sacks. One sack of grain and two sacks. One  
sack..." Kel's face suddenly lit up. "That's the answer! The farmer's carrying  
one sack of *grain* and the son is just carrying two *sacks*!"  
  
Neal scratched his head. "How do you figure these things out so quickly?"  
  
"I had a million brothers and sisters at Mindelan, plus Cricket and I used to  
play these riddle games all the time when I was staying in the Yamani   
Islands," Kel explained, quickly writing down the answer on the back of the  
paper. "It didn't say where to put it..." as Kel put the answer back in the  
envelope, it disappeared. A few moments later, the gates swung open.  
  
"That was pretty good, Kel," Merric congratulated her, handing back Acacia.  
  
"I wonder how many more gates we have to go through?" Neal wondered  
as they wandered into the next hallway.  
  
***  
  
"I'm claiming my right to complain! This is the fourth gate! How many more  
stupid gates do we have to go through to get to the stupid Master?!" Neal  
demanded. He was getting tired of going through all of these hallways, and  
it seemed so endless. That had always been one of the knight's fears. It   
had been something he had faced in the Chamber of the Ordeal, running   
down a hallway that seemed endless. The gates were a nice interval at   
first, but now they were just irritating and part of the cycle.  
  
"Shut up." Merric hit him upside the head and found the fourth note delivered  
to them the same way the first one had, by a string. "Okay. This one says:  
'You have made it to the final gate. Advance past this one and meet me in  
my chambers. This rite of passage consists of two parts: first, the riddle, and  
second, an inquisition with my personal spy. The riddle is at the bottom of the  
page. You have no time limit for this one. Have I mentioned you may not go  
back to the gates before and escape?' Okay, he says the riddle is, 'A lady  
has nine cousins. Half of them are lords. How is this possible?'. How *is* that  
possible indeed?"  
  
"All of them are lords," Neal said suddenly. Kel and Merric turned and looked   
at him.   
  
"What do you mean?" Merric asked.  
  
"All of them are lords," Neal repeated. "It's the only way you can have nine  
cousins and have half of them be lords."  
  
Kel shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Go ahead and write it down, Merric."  
  
He did, placed the note back in the envelope, and put it on the string. The  
string reeled up and the gate opened.  
  
"I thought you said it consisted of two parts," Neal said to Merric suspiciously.  
  
"That's what the note said," shrugged Merric.  
  
"Boys?" Kel interrupted. "Look ahead."  
  
Udaan stepped out of the shadows. "Hello," he crooned. "Nice t' see ye all   
again."  
  
"You have *got* to be kidding me," Neal groaned. "I knew you were a fake.  
I knew it."  
  
The one-armed man shrugged. "Ye're sharp is all. Now. If I understan' it,  
ye've all been studyin' the Abscador legends. We'll see now if it paid off."  
The three shifted uncomfortably. "We'll start wit' Merric. Merric, wha' was  
the name of the man tha' Abscador traded lives wit'?"  
  
"Cathos," Merric said easily.  
  
Udaan nodded. "Righ'. Neal. Accordin' t' legend, where'd all the children  
of Aescili go?"  
  
"Olau and Stone Mountain," Neal replied after a moment of consideration.  
  
"Righ'. Kel. Wha' color candle star's the Aescili ceremony, and wha' color  
ends it?"  
  
"White and black." Kel rearranged Acacia in her arms.  
  
"Merric. Wha' was Cathos's wife's name?"  
  
He blanched. "There's no mention of Cathos's wife's name."  
  
Udaan smirked. "Ye'll need to brush up then. Sorry, ye'll have t' forfeit  
something in order t' go on. Kel, Acacia if ye please."  
  
"No!" Kel said, aghast. "I'm not going to give you a baby!" Suddenly, the  
infant disappeared from Kel's arms. "What did you do with her?!"  
  
"I took her t' the Master. Ye may proceed." Udaan moved aside. "Good  
luck," he added sneeringly.  
  
They hurried down the corridor, eager to get to the final stage of this   
ridiculous confrontation and rescue Acacia. Alanna would never forgive  
them if her daughter was harmed. As it was, they would be in trouble   
for letting Udaan even *take* the child. It wasn't as if they could   
necessarily stop him, though. He had used some sort of magic that could  
be wielded by anyone, with or without the Gift. Udaan definitely did *not*  
have the Gift, that much Neal could tell, but Udaan had glowed with the   
same blood red sheen that had covered the building before they had  
entered.  
  
As they came to the end of the corridor, they found a dead end. Nothing  
there but the same solid rock and dirt that was the walls as they had gone  
down the hallway. However, the closer they came to the dead end, Neal  
and Merric found that their bracelets began to throb and irritate them again.  
It finally became so unbearable that they both dropped to their knees in   
front of the wall, and suddenly, there was no pain. Bewildered, they looked  
at each other, then down at their wrists. The golden bracelets were gone.  
They had crumbled off of their wrists and now piled on the ground at their  
feet. They backed up a step and looked at Kel, then at the wall, and wondered  
just what the hell was going on.  
  
A portion of the wall slid back and to the left, allowing them entrance to a   
cavernous opening. Torchlight flickered and danced along the stone walls,   
and seemed to stop their strobe light dance on a pedastal in the center.   
The three of them found their attention drawn inexplicably there, and in   
front of their very eyes materialized Joren.  
  
A malicious smile spread across his statuesque face. "Welcome to my   
domain." 


	28. Fall Away

Thanks: IHL, Sandry, Fanty, Amber Faerie, Stacey, Min, LizzieCharmed  
  
Xelena--ah, thank you for telling me that. I was beginning to think nobody  
cared either way, besides IHL, Sandry, and Fanty.  
  
Like, oh my god. This is the second to the last chapter. Can you believe this?   
Only a few months ago I was churning out a chapter a month. Now I've written  
three chapters in just a matter of days. Wow. *sigh* This truly is the second  
to the last chapter. I'm not lying. I know I said earlier there was going to be a  
chapter thirty, but chapter twenty-seven didn't have enough in it so I combined  
twenty-eight and twenty-seven to get twenty-seven. Now I've got chapter  
twenty-eight here...and...*sob*  
  
**Chapter 28: Fall Away**  
  
As soon as the initial shock of seeing Joren wore off, Kel and Merric hefted their  
swords into the defensive. Neal hadn't bothered. If Joren could summon them  
here just by the power of a bracelet, swords would do nothing against him.   
  
"Welcome," Joren said again, his voice reverberating against the walls and   
down their spines.  
  
"Nice parlor trick," Neal replied. "Coming out of the shadows like that. Did you  
practice?"  
  
Joren chuckled. "So cocky. Always arrogant and obnoxious, as usual. I won't  
attack you three, so you can let your swords relax. Holding that position can be  
tiresome--I remember."  
  
"Why aren't you dead?" Merric spat finally, not allowing his position to go slack.  
  
"You mean to tell me that our dear Duke of Queenscove didn't share the story  
with you?" Joren asked, his voice a mocking tone. "Why, I had one of Father's  
mages create a simulacrum to send into the Chamber."  
  
"And that's why 'you' died," Kel murmured.  
  
"Bravo, Lady--pardon me, Duchess Keladry," Joren said. "You *can* think   
without your other half."  
  
"Where are Lianne and Acacia?" Neal demanded, trying to take Joren's   
attention away from his wife.  
  
Joren stepped to the side and motioned behind him. Acacia was on the ground,  
at the center of four candles, differently colored and marking the four cardinal  
directions. Something that sounded like a cross between Scanran and Carthaki  
came out of Joren's mouth, and each candle sprung to life, producing more   
smoke than any candle should have. The air became thick and heavy, the   
product of major magic-working, and the smoke became a curtain over the   
baby.  
  
"Acacia!" Kel cried, starting to run forward, but Merric caught her and held her  
back.  
  
The smoke turned violet, then sapphire, and finally pitch back before   
disappearing altogether. Where Acacia had lain as a child now stood a full-grown  
female adult.  
  
"May I present Lady Acacia," Joren smirked. He held out a hand to Acacia and  
she took it, smiling. "You look stunning, my dear." But, she was naked. "Go  
put some clothes on. There's some over there." He motioned to a standing  
wardrobe against the wall.  
  
Acacia hurried off without a word.  
  
"Well, Alanna's going to kill us," Neal muttered to Merric and Kel.  
  
A bitter, tense silence filled the following moments as Acacia dressed herself and  
trotted back over to Joren. She had tied back her waist-length black hair into two  
braids. She wore a silken black dress that clung to her body until just below her  
waist and flowed out to her ankles. The sleeves of the dress tightened at the  
shoulder, flared at the elbows, and tightened again at the wrists. The entire thing  
was trimmed in violet.  
  
"Do we have guests?" Acacia asked, looking at Kel, Neal, and Merric.  
  
"We do," Joren agreed. "This is Kel, Neal, and Merric."  
  
Acacia curtsied. "Hello, welcome to our home."  
  
"Udaan!" Joren barked suddenly.  
  
"Yes, m'lord?" answered Udaan promptly.  
  
"Bring in Lianne!" he ordered.  
  
"Yes, m'lord." He ran off, footsteps echoing in the room. A few moments later, a  
door creaked open, followed by a panicked scream, a thud, and the sound of a limp  
body being dragged across the floor.  
  
"Lianne," Merric whispered, watching the limp body in tattered nightclothes make a   
long, wide mark on the dirty floor. The three of them fought the urge to take up   
their swords and defend a member of the Royal Family, knowing that the Master--  
Joren, now, would prevent that from ever happening.  
  
Acacia scampered over to a semicircle of a candles about ten feet from where she  
had rapidly aged and gathered a handful of the colored wax. As best he could   
with one arm, Udaan shoved Lianne into the center of the semicircle and backed  
out. "Can I?" Acacia asked, motioning to the rest of the circle.  
  
Nodding, Udaan grunted, "Feel free."  
  
Merric ran forward, sword drawn, shoved Udaan aside and nearly made it inside   
the semicircle when suddenly he was no longer there.  
  
"It seems Merric was a little overeager, don't you think?" Joren asked them, strolling  
in front of them. "But, alas, that's one less unwanted stranger here. Udaan?"  
  
"Yes, m'lord?" Udaan stood straighter.  
  
"Please escort Duke Nealan here outside," Joren instructed, turning his gaze onto   
Kel. "Then, my dear, sweet Keladry, we shall be all alone..."  
  
Joren reached for Kel and something in the emerald-eyed knight snapped. "Stay  
away from her!" he shouted and threw himself in front of Kel, sword pointed at   
Joren's throat. "I swear to the Mother Goddess herself that if you so much as  
*move* towards Kel, I will chop your fucking head off and take it back to the crown  
on a silver platter."  
  
Raising a blond eyebrow, Joren looked down the sword at Neal's hands on the hilt.  
The knight's knuckles had turned white, as had the rest of his fingers. "You may  
want to loosen your hold on your sword. Don't want your fingers to stop recieving  
blood, correct?"  
  
"Back off," Neal ordered. Joren stayed where he was. "Back off, dammit!"  
  
Shaking his head, Joren moved back a few steps. "Are you happy now?"  
  
Neal aimed the point of his sword a little lower and Joren found it just a small   
distance away from the bridge of his nose. "Back. Off."  
  
He simply acquiesced to Neal's instructions until he was no longer within a  
sword's distance of Kel. "Now, Udaan," Joren turned to the Bazhir descendant,  
"I believe I asked you to escort Sir Neal from the chambers?"  
  
Udaan hurried over to Neal and reached for his arm, only to find Neal's sword  
buried in his ribcage. "I'm not going anywhere," he announced to the room as  
he slid the blade free from Udaan and kicked the body over. "Not unless Kel  
comes with me."  
  
"Poor Udaan," Acacia commented from the completed circle. "Joren, when are  
we going to start the ceremony?"  
  
"As soon as the moon is completely in the sky," Joren replied, reaching for the  
sword at his waist.  
  
"That's the Sword," Neal muttered, keeping his eyes on Joren and wiping off  
his blade on Udaan's still body.  
  
Kel hefted her sword to her left hand and watched Joren and Acacia. Acacia  
trotted off to a small, square opening on the wall further down the room.   
"Joren!" Acacia called. "It's nightfall! The moon's up in the sky!"  
  
Quickly, Joren drew the Sword of Abscador and began to stride purposefully  
over to Princess Lianne.  
  
*Shit,* Neal thought. *Can't let him sacrifice the princess...* Without thinking  
twice, Neal hurried forward and tackled Joren at an angle, the Sword of   
Abscador skidding across the floor towards Acacia. "Kel!" Neal shouted, using  
all of his strength to pin Joren to the ground. "Grab the Sword!"  
  
He hadn't even gotten the entire request out of his mouth before Kel ran to   
follow it. She threw her bodyweight into Acacia and grabbed the Sword.  
  
Joren managed to kick Neal off and rolled over, ignoring him. Slowly, he got  
to his feet and walked towards Kel. "All right, Kel," he said softly. "Give me the  
Sword. There's no reason for you to have it. In your hands, it's simply a   
Sword."  
  
"No," Kel refused, keeping the blade of the Sword aimed at Joren and Griffin's   
blade aimed at Acacia. "Stay back!"  
  
Neal dragged himself to his feet, his stab wound from earlier in the day having  
reopened when Joren kicked him. He launched himself again, recklessly, at   
Joren. The two tumbles to the ground, knocking some of the candles askew.  
  
Acacia took advantage of Kel's distraction and easily disarmed the lady knight.  
Smirking, she picked up the Sword of Abscador and kicked Griffin up to Kel.  
"You, Joren, and I will be one big happy family, Kel. Why won't you let that  
happen?"  
  
"Because I," Kel grunted, feinting an attack one way and really thrusting another  
direction, "hate Joren!"  
  
Acacia blocked it. "How unfortunate...he doesn't hate you."  
  
"Remind me why I care," Kel replied.  
  
Acacia whirled, parried Kel's swing, and hooked her leg behind Kel's. As Acacia  
swung for Kel's head, the lady knight ducked and brought her elbow straight into  
Acacia's abdomen. The violet-eyed woman gasped and brought down the hilt of  
the Sword of Abscador onto Kel's head with enough force to knock her   
unconscious.  
  
Seeing stars, Kel collapsed as Acacia unwound her leg from Kel's and ran over   
to help Joren with Neal. The two men had been wrestling while Kel and Acacia  
swordfought, and both were sporting some ugly bruises. At that moment, Neal  
had Joren pinned. His stab wound had bled all over his breeches and the floor  
whenever he and Joren had rolled around. He had scraped his elbows on the  
ground so much while Joren and he had wrestled that the skin was raw, and Joren  
had clawed at his face in an attempt to pry him off. Blood dribbled from a cut  
on his mouth, and red scrape marks pulled across his face.  
  
Joren didn't look much better. Both his bottom and upper lip had cracked and  
were bleeding freely, his eyes was puffy and red, and his beautiful silk clothes  
were torn and tattered.  
  
"Joren!" Acacia cried, trying slice Neal in half with the Sword of Abscador. Luckily,  
through Acacia announcing herself, Neal was able to roll away and reaffix his   
hands at Joren's neck.  
  
"Make her stop," Neal panted, glaring at Joren. "Make her stop."  
  
"Acacia, stop," Joren said smoothly, even though Neal was trying to strangle him.  
"You have the sword. Go to Lianne."  
  
Neal jumped up, stumbled, and fell atop Acacia, sending the Sword clattering. In  
a hurry, he crawled over and threw himself on the flat of the blade. He was dirty,  
hurt, and running on pure adrenaline. There was no way he would let Joren and  
Acacia reach the blade and sacrifice the princess. Not while he was serving the  
crown. Never. Not while he still had something to protect. They would have to  
kill him to get to the blade.  
  
Gasping, Neal grabbed the hilt of the Sword and used the blade to raise himself   
to his feet. It hurt to stand on his wounded leg, so he leaned heavily on the   
Sword. Joren had kicked him in the stomach quite a few times and during his  
gasps, Neal coughed up blood. *Internal bleeding,* he mused bitterly. *Well,  
how about I just try to break this stupid Sword and end the gods-damned   
suffering...*  
  
"Where's..." he paused to cough. "Where's Kel?"  
  
Acacia pointed. "Over there. She didn't put up much of a fight...how did she  
become a knight?"  
  
"You rhymed," Neal pointed out. Acacia grinned widely at him. "Wake her up."  
  
"I can't," Acacia told him, spreading her arms helplessly. "I wish I could but I  
can't."  
  
"Fine." Using all of his weight, Neal stepped on the tip of the Sword of   
Abscador and pulled back on the pommel in an attempt to break it. He frowned  
when the blade wouldn't break. Normally, a sword would shatter if someone   
applied that much pressure to it.  
  
Joren laughed mockingly at him. "It won't work. That's an Immortal Blade."  
  
"A what?" Neal replied, trying in vain to at least crack the thing.  
  
"An Immortal Blade," Joren repeated, watching Neal. He knew Neal was trying to  
stall the forthcoming events by trying to distract him. "It's the only one of its   
kind. Made by storing immortality and godhood that a normal mortal couldn't   
store in his body. Neal, you couldn't possibly break that blade by doing what you  
are at this moment."  
  
"Could this blade kill an immortal being?" Neal wanted to know, careful to keep an  
eye on Joren and Acacia. When Acacia began to move, Neal whipped the blade  
from the ground and trained it on Acacia while watching Joren out of the corner of  
his eye. "Don't move, Acacia. Now, Joren. You were saying?"  
  
"An Immortal Blade...kill an immortal being," Joren rolled the question around in   
his mind for a few moments. "Neal, it could most likely kill a god, let alone an   
immortal."  
  
*He won't live long enough to test that information,* Joren thought haughtily.   
  
"I see," nodded Neal. *Now what? I need to stall. They'll kill me if I don't keep  
stalling.* "So, what was Cathos's wife's name? That was the question that   
stumped us."  
  
"Paska," Joren replied simply. "Neal, just hand over the Sword. I'm going to  
lose my patience in a few minutes. This childish game has gone on long   
enough."  
  
"Well, I think in the game of life we're all losers, don't you think?" Neal asked   
him rhetorically.  
  
"You speak falsely," Joren told him. "Not everyone loses."  
  
Raising his eyebrows, Neal turned his attention mostly to Joren. "Oh? Who   
wins?"  
  
"Everyone in this room except for you and Lianne." The smile on Joren's face  
sent chills up Neal's spine.  
  
"What makes you so sure?" Neal countered. *Shit. This is getting me closer to   
the final showdown.*  
  
"What makes you so certain that you can single-handedly prevent it?" Joren  
asked.  
  
*Fuck.* "Because I'm holding the sword that kills immortals, pal." *Whoo.  
Smooth, Neal. Way to go. Let's keep this up.*  
  
That seemed to stall Joren for a few more tense moments and give Neal some  
precious needed seconds to think. *This is ridiculous. How the hell did I end  
up like this? Something has to happen, soon. Lianne or Kel have to wake up.  
Come on. Kel has a sword and no injured limbs. Lianne has the Gift as far as  
I can tell and her mind should be in working order. Okay. Back-up plan. Plan,  
plan...um. Shit. I can't run, they'd catch me a minute. I can't leave Kel and   
Lianne in here. Somehow I need to get Acacia out of the picture so I can kill  
Joren. I have a lame leg and my right eye seems to not want to focus   
properly. My elbows hurt, my lip is cracked. No broken bones but starting to  
feel a little dizzy. Bruises in various locations and internal bleeding. My Gift  
should have taken care of the internal bleeding while I was talking to Joren.  
Leg is next, bruises after. Lip is not a problem, it's already healing. Joren has  
no Gift, but I have no idea what his magic IS like. He may have already healed,  
but I doubt it. His lips are having trouble scabbing and he has a black eye, or   
the beginnings of one. If he becomes a god tonight, he'll be one hell of an ugly  
god.*  
  
Neal coughed, and much to his relief, no blood came up this time. His internal  
assessment of his injuries sustained and their status had been accurate. Joren  
finally came up with an answer:  
  
"But there's two of us, dear Nealan. You may be able to defend yourself   
against Acacia, but against a simultaneous attack from both of us you would   
wither and fail miserably," Joren said finally.  
  
"That took you a little while to think about it, Joren. Are you sure of your   
abilities?" Neal mocked him, leaning heavily on his uninjured leg. He would  
have one shot at one of them. As much as Neal hated to admit it, Joren was  
right. He would die against the both of them.  
  
Suddenly, Acacia cried out in pain, reaching for her back with grasping fingers.  
"Acacia?" Joren asked worriedly. "What happened?"  
  
"Something...something in my...ah!" she cried out again, and one more time.  
The last time her head flung forward, blood trailing from the back of her   
scalp down her neck and onto her front. Three Yamani throwing stars were  
embedded in Acacia, two in her back and one in the back of her head.  
  
One whizzed past Joren's head and he turned his full attention on Kel,   
crouched on the floor with Griffin in one hand and some throwing stars in the  
other. "What in the name of Abscador is--" he began to demand but the  
throwing star came whirling past him in the other way. He turned to find  
Neal with the Sword of Abscador right in his face.  
  
"Heads up," smirked Neal.  
  
Furious, Joren grabbed the blade of the Sword with his bare hands and ripped  
it from Neal's unbalanced grip as Kel ran up to check on Acacia. She was   
barely breathing, wheezing, and looking at Kel with big, vacant violet eyes.  
Kel couldn't stand to see someone die that way and gave poor Acacia a mercy  
kill.  
  
Meanwhile, Neal was staggering backwards with his life at stake. He tripped   
over the candles left over from Acacia's rapid aging ceremony and sprawled  
out on his back. *Shit! This is the end. It's all over now. Damn.*   
Desperately, he tried to crawl backwards but his lame leg kept him from   
moving too quickly. "Well, Joren, you win." Neal didn't imagine the tremor  
in his voice. He had at least thought he would die like a man, with valor,   
without fear and with fierce courage...but he was scared. He was so afraid.  
He didn't want to die! "I guess you were right. The only winners in the   
game of life are you and everyone in here except for Lianne and me."  
  
*I have one shot at this. Miss and die.* Neal watched Joren come closer.  
*He'll swing the Sword down on me. If I kick up at the right moment, I  
SHOULD catch the pommel and send the Sword flying. If I miss, I might  
catch him in the face, or have a split leg. Either way, I have one chance.  
And here it comes.*  
  
Joren came closer, and closer, and closer...raised up the Sword...aimed...  
and brought the blade crashing down. Quick as he could, Neal kicked   
upwards with his good leg, caught Joren on the nose, and knocked the   
Sword into the eastern candle about five feet away.  
  
Joren hesitated for a moment, grabbing at his bleeding nose, and lunged for  
the Sword they so desperately fought over. Neal's hand closed over the   
pommel, but Joren's hands grabbed the hilt and easily yanked the weapon  
from the knight's hands.  
  
"You must think you're pretty damn smart," Joren snarled, blood dripping  
from his nose. Kel tried to tackle Joren but the blond-haired man simply  
held up a hand and the lady knight was on the gound, pinned with invisible  
bindings. "'Oh, while he's trying to kill me I'll just kick the Sword of   
Abscador out of his hands!'" Joren mocked Neal. "*Not* this time. I get  
what I want!" he shouted, blue eyes ablaze with fury. "I do *not* get   
my careful plans fucked up by some brainwashed servant!"  
  
Neal found he couldn't move. "This isn't fair! You're cheating! Do you call  
this a fair fight?!"  
  
"Fight? *Fight*?!" Joren repeated incredulously. "No, I don't call this a fair  
fight! I call it a decent murder though! Your precious Keladry killed my   
heir--*my* heir! The heir that I carefully prepared a special powdered   
potion for her to be conceived with! The heir that I had Alanna and Jonathan  
sleep together for! You people were supposed to *worship* me! The Royal  
Family was supposed to fall and you would look to the only heir to the throne  
left, a little goddess called Acacia! And I--*I* would be king!"  
  
"You're crazy!" Neal shouted, trying desperately to move out of the invisible  
ropes that held him to his spot. Or was his fear paralyzing him?  
  
"What's wrong, Nealan?" Joren asked, suddenly calm. He pressed the tip of   
the blade to Neal's throat. "Don't want to die?"  
  
"No!" Neal gasped. "You're psychotic! I don't want to die at the hands of   
someone like you!"  
  
"Too bad!" Joren snarled. "You'll die anyway! *And* I'll kill your precious  
Keladry too! Betraying little bitch!" Joren moved the blade onto Neal's   
chest and began to press. Clothing tore, skin broke, blood began to seep.  
"Yet, I don't want you to die immediately." Quickly, Joren yanked the Sword  
away, causing Neal to yelp. That cold smile that sent chills down Neal's spine  
spread across Joren's face as he placed the edge of the blade against Neal's  
ribcage. "Say goodbye, Neal. I hope you had fun in this realm while it lasted."  
  
With that, Joren pushed down on the Sword of Abscador and listened to Neal  
scream in agony as the blade slipped through his ribs. 


	29. The Price of Victory

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, there were a lot of you. I forgot to  
look and see who had reviewed (though I *did* read all of them), but  
thank you just the same. You know if you reviewed or not. By the way,  
everyone go out and get the new Harry Potter. Heh. I have to get mine  
tomorrow (stupid 'rents--even though I have my *license* now they   
won't let me go get it because they want to go to the mall...), but those   
who get it today should be reading that instead of this fic.  
  
"When I die, bury me with her picture, as I don't want to feel alone and  
forget her face..."  
  
*cries* This is the final chapter of Free Falling. I'm so sad! I really   
thought I would never see the day when Free Falling met its end. I really  
didn't. Starting this back in September of 2002, I thought it would only  
be seven chapters long. Now it's twenty-two chapters longer, and a lot  
better than the original plot. Oh, and apologies are dispensed for my "a"  
key sticking. If there's an "a" missing somewhere in a word, it's because  
my "a" key is sticking. Also, if you copy-paste this story as-is (without  
taking out the extra spaces, keeping it on font Times New Roman size 12)  
without the author's notes, as of chapter 28 it's 341 pages long. Now, that  
is one DAMN long fanfic, don't you think?  
  
All right. This, regardless, is the final CHAPTER chapter of the story.   
There's still the epilogue and the Deleted Scenes (funny scenes from the  
original story that were deleted because they had no place in the final  
version).   
  
Now, I'm sure you're all dying to find out whether or not I killed off Neal.  
So, I'll go into the list of people to thank for reviewing...eh? What? You  
want to know whether or not I killed Neal? Oh. Sorry. Go ahead. Go  
on and read. You don't want to be acknowledged. Not my problem.   
Heh. I'll put the...oh, right. Neal is dead, true or false. Right? Gotcha.  
Go read.  
  
**Chapter 29: The Price of Victory**  
  
"NEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAL!" Kel screamed, distracting Joren from the   
spell long enough for it to wear weak. In a hurry, Kel grabbed Griffin and  
ran, slicing Joren in half and kicking the body away. "Neal, Neal!" she   
cried, dropping her sword and crawling over to him quickly. There was so  
much blood...  
  
Heedless of it all, she craddled his head in her lap and stroked his hair,   
listening to his wet, gurgling breathing. "Neal..." she whispered.  
  
"Love," Neal said softly. "Love, I want to you listen to me." He turned his  
eyes up at her. He was getting so cold and tired and he didn't really even  
feel the pain of his wound anymore, even though the Sword was sticking  
straight up out of him. "Kel, I want you to go back to Queenscove. I want  
you take care of my mother and our fief, and...and..." he wheezed, stopped  
breathing for a moment, and struggled to talk again. "And I want you to take  
care of our child as best you can, all right? I...I want you to...to marry   
someone else, love, and...and be happy. I...I love you. Always have. I will  
love you from now into the next life, but..." he coughed, blood trailing out of   
the corner of his mouth. "But don't keep loving me. Love someone else.  
Find...happiness. I...love...you..."  
  
Shaking, Kel kissed his mouth, not caring about the blood. "No," she   
murmured against his still lips. "No..."  
  
While she wasn't watching, Joren had pieced himself together again. "Kel, you  
know, I just love having the magic of the Scroll of Abscador at my disposal. It  
prevents me from dying like that. As long as there's pieces of me left, I'll just  
come back together, like a jigsaw puzzle."  
  
"You..." rage bubbled through Kel's blood. "You! You *bastard*!" With a look  
of apology to Neal, she drew the Sword of Abscador from Neal's body and ran  
forward with it. It pierced Joren through his middle and in her fury, Kel ripped   
it up and sliced him in half from the belly button up. As Joren fell, so did the  
Immortal Blade, and Kel looked back at Neal. "Oh, gods..."  
  
A groan drew Kel's attention away from the dead body. "Lianne?"  
  
Her answer was another groan. "Ugh..." Lianne opened her eyes and looked  
around, an expression of horror growing on her face. "What...what happened  
in here...?"  
  
"A lot. You're safe now," Kel said lifelessly.  
  
"Lady Knight?" Lianne asked softly.  
  
Kel didn't answer, simply dropped to her knees beside Neal and laid her head on  
his still chest. No longer would she hear his heartbeat when she lied like this.   
The days were gone when she would hear his lilting, jokester voice call her "love,"  
tell her that he loved her. She would never see his eyes light up when talking   
about her or talking with her again. As well, she would never, ever see his grin,  
his smile, his beautiful smile, again.  
  
She had no idea how long she stayed there and not the vaguest idea how long  
Lianne had tried to get her attention. It registered, however, when someone   
placed their hand on her back. It was Merric.  
  
"Kel?" he whispered.  
  
"He..." she got out before tears claimed her right to speak. It hurt so much to   
even *think* about the possibility of any of this being a reality. She kept   
expecting to wake up back in the Yamani Islands at nine years old. She kept  
expecting to open her eyes and find a familiar ceiling. This was all just a   
dream. It *had* to be. There...there was no way...  
  
Slowly, Merric drew Kel away from Neal's body and onto his shoulder. He made  
sure to keep stroking her hair and whispering soothing words to her. Because   
of that, Kel didn't notice when two of the braver servants came down and set  
Neal's body in a white sheet, covered it, and carried it back up to the castle.  
  
***  
  
For the next two weeks, Kel did nothing but cry and go through normal everyday  
functions like eating and sleeping. They took her back to Corus, and rather than  
have Kel write to Amaris and deliver the bad news, Jonathan opted to write a   
letter to her instead.   
  
Finally, someone knocked on Kel's door, trying to stir her from her pit of despair.  
  
"Go away," Kel said hoarsely.  
  
There was the sound of metal scraping against metal, and the tumblers of the   
lock falling into place. The door swung open. "Um...your Grace?"  
  
Kel raised her eyebrows and turned her eyes to the doorway. "...What do   
*you* want?"  
  
Thom shuffled into her room, careful to leave the door open. "I...I wanted to  
offer my condolences," he said quietly. "I know I really don't have the right to,  
but...I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened to Neal."  
  
"Condolences accepted," Kel muttered. "Go away."  
  
Slowly, Thom turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. A few  
moments later, someone was at the door again.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
Raoul.  
  
"Come in," Kel murmured.  
  
Amazingly, Raoul heard. Carefully, he made his approach to her, perching  
on the bed behind her. So heavy was he that Kel fell backwards into his lap.  
"Hello, Kel."  
  
"Hi, Raoul."  
  
"Don't you think this is a little ridiculous?"   
  
"What?"  
  
"Pouting like this."  
  
Kel fought back a pout. "I'm not pouting. Excuse me if I feel like half of my  
soul was ripped out of my body because Neal...Neal...died."  
  
"Kel, it's been three weeks. I don't think Neal would have wanted you to sit  
around like this all day, crying and hardly doing anything but that."  
  
She averted her eyes from Raoul. Although she knew he was right, Kel didn't  
want to admit that to herself, or to Raoul. Her heart felt as raw as her eyes  
did from crying so much, but...could she honestly move on?  
  
"You can," Raoul assured her. She hadn't realized she had spoken aloud.  
  
"I'll need help," Kel muttered.  
  
He smiled, ruffling her hair and giving her a big bear hug. "What do you think  
you have friends for, you silly girl? Nobody says you have to go to Queenscove  
yet. Neal had a steward, so you don't have to be there to supervise everything.  
Besides, I heard Jon say something about your mother-in-law coming here to  
sort everything out with you."  
  
"Amaris is coming *here*?" Kel repeated.  
  
"In fact, if memory serves, she should be here today. Probably in a few hours,  
I'd guess." Raoul shrugged.  
  
"Good Goddess!" Kel cried. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"  
  
"No one wanted to disturb you," Raoul told her as she scrambled off of his lap.  
*It worked,* he mused to himself. *I can't believe it worked, but it did. Why  
didn't anyone try this before?*  
  
Kel had taken to searching her room for the things necessary to make herself  
look decent. "Get out, Raoul! I need to get dressed and draw bath for myself."  
  
Nodding, Raoul got up off of the bed. "You're welcome, Kel." He ruffled her   
hair again, winked at her, and walked out of the room, careful to shut the door  
behind him.  
  
***  
  
"How is she?" asked Owen, part of a group of worried friends that had collected  
down the hallway from Kel's room.  
  
"She'll be all right. Right now, she's taking a bath and preparing to come   
outside to meet her mother-in-law."  
  
"Neal's mother is already here," piped up Merric. "Right now, she's in the   
infirmary, inspecting where Duke Baird used to spend all his time."  
  
"I'll go get her," Raoul told them. "Don't all swarm on Kel at once, though. She  
still hasn't quite got all of her bearings back yet, and all of you on her at one  
time may overwhelm her. Why don't two of you closest to her stay here and  
the rest of you can come to the infirmary with me?"  
  
Immediately, Merric and Owen stepped free of the group. The others seemed   
to accept that decision and acquiesced to it, following Raoul down to the   
infirmary.  
  
The two knights traded glances, and Merric began to rock back and forth on his  
heels. Already, he had been to Hollyrose and back. Now he was primarily   
concerned about Kel, one of the best friends he could have ever asked for.   
Suffice it to say, he had never quite seen Kel in the shape she had been in for  
the first week after Neal died, and her condition had gotten...better? worse?  
at least now she was crying and eating a little bit, so perhaps better? It didn't  
matter, but he had never seen Kel like that before. She was the Protector of  
the Small. Merric had never seen her cry, not even when they were pages and  
she fought against Joren for his sake.  
  
"Where is she?" Owen asked anxiously. "Girls. They take forever to get ready  
for *anything*."  
  
Merric laughed, though it didn't sound very happy. His own anxiety had gotten  
the better of him. "You have no idea, Owen. You have no idea."  
  
A few more minutes that stretched like eternity passed, and finally, Kel's door  
opened. They watched her turn towards them and walk down the hall, noticing  
she wore a pair of soft brown breeches, a white shirt, and a tunic the emerald  
green of Neal's eyes. She must have gotten that out of the clothes Neal left  
behind, they guessed.  
  
"Well, good afternoon, Kel," Merric said when she got close enough to hear   
them.  
  
"...Afternoon," she replied, puzzled. "Why are you two down here?"  
  
"Thought we might escort you out to see your mother-in-law," Owen told her.  
"It's jolly good to see you again, Kel."  
  
She offered him an uneasy smile. "Good to see you too, Owen."  
  
They walked down the hallway, at first in silence, then slowly conversation   
began to build. As they turned the corner, Owen and Merric offered Kel their  
arms, which she took, feeling a little more like her old self. That was to say,  
there was still a gaping hole in her heart, but it had begun to heal at the   
edges.  
  
They found Amaris outside in the carriage she had ridden to Corus in. It   
appeared as if she just arrived for all plots and purposes.  
  
"Amaris!" Kel called, releasing Owen's arm and waving.  
  
"Kel!" Amaris called back. A footman hurried forward and opened her door,  
Prince Roald offering the elderly woman his arm as she stepped down from  
the carriage. Quickly, Kel ran up to her and hugged her, Amaris hugging   
back just as tightly as Kel hugged her. "Kel, it's so wonderful to see you  
again." She leaned back and brushed Kel's hair away from her face, leaning  
forward and placing a kiss on the lady knight's forehead. "I'm so sorry,   
dear."  
  
With a trembling lip, Kel nodded. Although Amaris hid it well, there were   
unshed tears in her eyes, so Kel hugged her again. *Her husband and her  
son in a year. Poor thing...*  
  
When Amaris was released, she turned to the men helping unload her things.  
"Thank you, your Highness," she said to Roald.  
  
"Roald, please, your Grace," the prince waved it off.  
  
Amaris smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Roald. Can we put my things in a  
room near Kel's?"  
  
"I think we can arrange that," Roald replied.  
  
***  
  
When Kel and Amaris retired for the afternoon to Kel's quarters, there was   
a knock on the door. With a quick apology to Amaris, Kel opened the door.  
"Yes?"  
  
One of the Lord Provost's men stood there. "Duchess Keladry?" he asked.  
  
Nodding, Kel asked, "What do you need?"  
  
"We need you to come identify a body," the man said quietly.  
  
Frowning, Kel threw an apologetic look at Amaris and followed the man to  
the Provost's post. The body she was made to identify belonged to Bardev,  
the informant from Magistra. "That's Bardev," she said, as soon as she saw  
the open, glittering ruby eyes. "He worked with Joren."  
  
"Thank you, your Grace." The man escorted Kel back to her quarters.  
  
"Amaris, I think they've caught most of the people involved in that horrible  
man's network," Kel announced. "They just found the dead body of Bardev,  
this terrible creature which I thought was an immortal. He...it...was one of the  
Master's main informants. I think the rest of them are either dead or have  
been captured."  
  
Amaris smiled. "You can call me 'Mother,' you know. You *are* my daughter,  
after all."  
  
"Thank you...Mother." It sounded weird to Kel to call Amaris "Mother,"  
especially since she already had a mother, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to   
humor her mother-in-law. After all, she called her paternal mother "Mama."  
  
They caught up on what had happened, got most of the story of how Neal died  
out of Kel (an abrupt "the Master killed him" ended that conversation), and   
finally, the topic came to Neal's funeral. The palace healers had preserved his  
body, but the preservation spells wouldn't last for much longer. Not past the  
next week, for sure. They both decided that it would be better to hold the   
service at Queenscove and invite everyone there rather than hold the service  
at the palace. The service would take place as soon as possible, and if Kel  
asked nicely, maybe the healers would put another set of preservation spells  
on Neal, just to get his body through the trip to Queenscove and long enough  
to be put in the catacombs.  
  
***  
  
The funeral took place the next week, and Queenscove was almost crawling with  
people. Those who had known Neal when he was a page, when he was a squire,  
at New Hope and Haven, and when he was at the university had all heard about  
the funeral. Before Kel and Amaris knew it, Queenscove became a veritable   
center of action.  
  
Everyone who showed up offered their sincerest condolences and then some.   
Even those who did not come sent their regards and Kel began to realize just  
how much Neal meant to everyone.  
  
It made her proud to be his wife.  
  
After the ceremony and following wake, Kel was approached by one of Neal's  
cousins: a tall, handsome man with green eyes not quite the intensity of his  
cousin's, but close. "So, you're the famous Keladry," he said congenially.  
"I've heard a lot about you, outside of Neal's chatter. Personally, I think it's  
rather noble for a woman to take up the sword."  
  
"Thanks," Kel answered, carefully leaving her voice devoid of emotion.  
  
"Name's Travis, Travis of Listern," he introduced himself, offering a hand.  
Surreptitiously, Kel shook it. "I wanted to be a knight, but my folks had  
already sent two of my older brothers to Corus to become knights. How'd  
you become a knight?"  
  
"Went to knight school, just like everybody else," Kel replied.  
  
*Ouch,* Travis thought, biting the inside of his cheek. *I thought I was   
being friendly...*  
  
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"  
  
The look on Travis's face melted Kel's expression. "I'm sorry," she told him  
quietly. "I'm pregnant and hormonal and just came from my husband's   
funeral. I'm a little bit irritable at the moment, but I'll try not to be. Don't  
leave unless you want to."  
  
"Ah, it's okay. I have four older sisters, so I know that you be irritated by   
someone breathing the wrong way..."  
  
Kel gave him the strangest look.   
  
"Open mouth, insert foot," Travis mumbled. "I just...want to...you know...  
talk with you a little bit..."  
  
"I'll ignore comments that you don't mean to intentionally offend me with,"  
Kel promised. "Are you the youngest in your family?"  
  
Travis nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"  
  
"Indeed I am. I spent most of my childhood in the Yamani Islands though."  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"Travis!" called a woman from across the emptying banquet hall.  
  
"Coming, Mother!" Travis called back, turning to Kel once more. "Listen quick.  
I just wanted to tell you that I don't mind being to if you need someone to talk  
to, and I'll be here until Aunt Amaris kicks us out." He turned and started off,  
stopped, and turned around. "Matta ne!" he said, winking at her, and ran off  
again.  
  
"...Ja ne..." Kel murmured. A man her age, the youngest in his family, looked  
sort of like Neal but not too much, fumbling, and available? That was too good  
to be true! Shaking her head, Kel admonished herself. *Neal said to move on,  
but did he mean to his cousin? No, I don't think so. He seemed like a good   
friend, though. I'll settle for friend.*  
  
Two weeks later, most of the guests had cleared out, except for Amaris's sister  
and her son, Travis. According to Neal's mother, Travis was absolutely smitten  
with Kel, but personally, Kel didn't see it. She didn't want to see it, anyway. It  
would her blossoming friendship with Travis more complicated, and she just   
wanted a friend nearby. She wanted a friend within a day's riding distance, at  
least. Was one friend too much to ask for? Kel didn't think so.  
  
One day on the third week of visitation, Kel and Travis were in the gardens,   
steering clear of where Neal had proposed to her. They ended up walking on  
the wall walk as the sun was setting. Kel had begun to show that she was with  
child a little bit, just enough to where her pants no longer fit. Kel was saying  
something about her four years as a page that Travis listened to with one ear  
while watching her, and when she finished, she laughed and looked up at him.  
He smiled back leaned forward, ever so slightly, to close the gap between their  
lips.  
  
Startled, Kel stood there for a moment. Travis intelligently pulled away before  
she regained her senses. "Mother and I are going back to Listern tomorrow. I  
just wanted to do that while there weren't other sets of eyes on us," and he left  
her to think about what had happened.  
  
"Gods...what was *that*?" 


	30. Forgive Me

"To love someone, when there is no chance of that love ever thriving, THAT  
is romance."  
  
**Epilogue: Forgive Me**  
  
~Eight Years Later~  
  
"Nealan!" shouted Duchess Keladry of Queenscove from the garden path.  
"Nealan, put your sister down, right this instant!"  
  
Grumbling, a seven-year-old boy with blond-brown hair and shattering green  
eyes placed a four-year-old girl with blond hair and hazel eyes on the ground.  
"Mama!" cried the little girl and ran to Kel, hiding behind her leg and peeking  
out at Nealan.  
  
"Are you all right, Amaris?" Kel asked of the little girl.  
  
"Yeah," she sniffed. "Neal sleeps with the pigs!" she shouted around Kel's  
leg and stuck her tongue out at her brother.  
  
"What?!" shouted Nealan II of Queenscove. "Mother! Did you hear Amy?!"  
  
"Amy, don't say that about your brother. Both of you go get washed up for  
supper." Kel scoothed them both inside and glanced at her second husband,  
who held their newest son Baird.  
  
"Having troubles?" he asked.  
  
"Travis, you have no idea. He was trying to dunk your daughter into the   
pond out there!" Kel exclaimed, taking Baird from him.  
  
The corners of Travis's mouth twitched. "Shame on him. You should put him  
in his place, Kel. Neal might get out of control."  
  
Kel swatted at him. "It's not funny," she huffed and walked off to the dining  
hall. Although Kel didn't love Travis nearly as much as she loved Neal, she   
loved the man just the same. At first, Kel had tried to care for the son Neal  
gave her on her own, then Amaris had passed on and it became too much   
for her. Travis had offered to come stay in Queenscove for awhile to help  
out, all romantic inclinations aside, and Kel had agreed. Things became   
easier and Kel found herself beginning to love Travis is a more than brotherly  
way.  
  
After the young Nealan's second birthday, Travis had asked Kel to marry him,  
and she had accepted. A year later, Amaris was born, and after that, three  
years later, Baird was born.   
  
"Ma?" Nealan asked after supper, tugging on his mother's sleeve with an   
embarrassed expression.  
  
"Yes?" Kel replied, kneeling so that they were at eye level with one another.  
Nealan tugged on his mother's arm and led her away from everyone else,  
leaving Travis with Amy and Baird. "What's wrong, Neal?"  
  
"Why am I '*Nealan* the second' and not 'Travis the second'?" he blurted.   
His intense green eyes drilled holes in his mother's head.  
  
"Come here," she said quietly, opening her arms. The child obeyed and Kel  
scooped him up in her arms, carrying him down to the catacombs. "I was   
married before Travis, darling. Not for very long, though."  
  
"What happened?" he pressed.  
  
"Hold your horses, Neal." She showed him Neal's plaque in the mausoleum.  
"That's your father."  
  
Nealan did some mental math and frowned. "He was only twenty-six when he  
died..."  
  
Kel nodded. "I was barely twenty-one. I loved your father with all my heart  
and soul, and he loved me the same way. Your father died bravely, Nealan.  
He fought till the very last moment to protect you and me, as well as the crown.  
That's why there's a wing of the knights' quarters in Corus named after him."  
  
A look of incredible determination came over Nealan's face. "Ma, can I be a   
knight? Like him...like my father?"  
  
"Of course, sweetheart. Of course."  
  
~ The End ~  
  
I know it's short, but it's done. I didn't want to spend too much time on an   
epilogue, and uh, I kinda debated putting the whole Kel getting remarried thing  
in there, but I decided that she probably would have, if just for the help. You  
know? Anyway.  
  
I finished this in my notebook at my best friend's house on June 3, 2002. I  
still haven't uploaded chapter 27 (hahaha) yet, so you guys are far behind.   
Well. I never thought I would see the day when Free Falling met its end. This  
was my first Tamora Pierce fanfic. It took me about nine months to finish this...  
but it's done. Hope you enjoyed. Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow...  
  
I was going to put up a list of everyone who had reviewed, but my list of folks  
that had reviewed mysteriously disappeared from my laptop. Um, so, I'll just  
say this.  
  
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED!!! I LOVE YOU ALL! 


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